College Town in 2015.

Dedication Plaque for Paprocki Plaza

View of College Town on December 3, 2013

The University spent decades exploring options for a College Town to provide retail space and other services to the University community and its neighbors.  A site was chosen along Mt. Hope Avenue between Elmwood Avenue and Crittenden Boulevard.  Ground was broken on May 2, 2013 and dedication was held on October 17, 2014.   

References
2013 Community, University Celebrate College Town Groundbreaking on May 2, 2013 

2014 "No injured reported in crane collapse," Democrat and Chronicle, July 1, 2014, Page 4A.
At College Town parking garage.

2014 College Town is Dedicated, October 17, 2014

2014 University offices prepare to move into College Town, November 5, 2014

2015 "Constantino's opening day goes well," Democrat and Chronicle, April 11, 2015, Page A10.

2016 Statement from President Joel Seligman on Constantino’s Market closing at College Town, February 1, 2016

2016 "Constantino's says it was a victim of poor vision," Democrat and Chronicle, February 14, 2016, Page 3E. | Part 2 |

2018 University’s Global Offices plan move to College Town, July 10, 2018

2022 Fitness Center moves to College Town, former location of the short-lived Bar 145.

2023 University of Rochester Purchases College Town, July 27, 2023
University leaders envision owning, managing, and marketing the mixed-use complex as a Rochester destination to shop, dine, stay, and live.
The University of Rochester has completed its purchase of College Town from CT Rochester, LLC, bringing the 312,000-square-foot, mixed-use complex under local ownership for the first time since its opening in 2014. Located in the Mt. Hope neighborhood, College Town serves as a gateway to the University’s River Campus and Medical Center Campus and is anchored by the University of Rochester Barnes & Noble Bookstore.
Meliora Development Company LLC, a newly formed affiliate of the University, now owns College Town and is responsible for managing the property and recruiting additional commercial tenants, while also supporting current business and residential tenants that call College Town home.
“With our purchase of College Town, we aim to build a greater sense of community and connectedness for students, employees, patients, visitors, and neighbors,” says University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “The University’s new strategic plan and a planned update to the institutional campus master plan launching later this year will provide opportunities to reimagine how the development fits into University life.”
University leaders envision owning, managing, and marketing College Town in the spirit in which it was originally designed—as a Rochester destination to shop, dine, stay, and live. Today, College Town features restaurants, services, retail, and Class A office space, some of which is occupied by the University. It also includes the CVS Pharmacy; the 20,000-square-foot, two-level Barnes & Noble—which is both a community and University bookstore; a parking garage; and the Mt. Hope Lofts, which comprise 154 apartments, 10 of which are designated as affordable housing units.
“The success of College Town is important to the community, and local control will provide a stronger commitment to its vibrancy as well as a renewed energy to the neighborhood and businesses in the surrounding community,” says Dan Hurley, president of the Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood Association. “The Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood Association supports this acquisition and is excited to continue to be an integral partner, working in collaboration with the University and key stakeholders, to enhance the area.”
College Town is anchored by the University of Rochester Barnes & Noble Bookstore.
CT Rochester LLC—a joint venture of Providence-based Gilbane Development Co. and Cleveland-based Fairmount Properties LLC—is the original developer of College Town, and has owned and managed the development and leased from the University of Rochester the 14 acres of land on which it sits. In the summer of 2022, CT Rochester expressed an intent to sell the development, and University officials began the purchase exploration process, including engaging with the City of Rochester, Monroe County, current tenants, as well as residents of the Mt. Hope community. The sale of College Town does not include the 136-room Hilton Garden Inn building on Elmwood Avenue, but the University will continue to own the land on which the hotel is located and ground lease this parcel to the hotel’s owner. The 10 affordable housing apartments in the complex will remain in place, and Meliora Development Company LLC will continue to make payments in lieu of taxes to Monroe County and the City of Rochester in the same amounts as were paid by CT Rochester.
College Town will be managed by Michael Zanghi, who has been named director of real estate operations and College Town. Zanghi previously worked in UR Medicine’s Real Estate Services office.

2023 "UR completes $51.5M purchase of College Town," Rochester Business Journal, August 1, 2023
The University of Rochester closed on the purchase of College Town on Monday, paying $51.5 million for the 14-acre mixed-used development along Mt. Hope Avenue near the River Campus.
Christened in 2014, College Town includes retail, residential and office space, a parking garage and a Hilton Garden Inn hotel. All buildings were included in the transfer except the hotel, which is owned by DelMonte Hotel Group of East Rochester.
The U of R said it intends to transform College Town into a gateway to the campus and medical center, which are less than a half-mile away down Elmwood Avenue.
The transfer of the nine properties, as well as lease agreements with current retail tenants, were filed with the Monroe County Clerk’s office on Monday. The school made the purchase through its newly formed real estate entity, Meliora Development Co. LLC.
The university acquired College Town from CT Rochester LLC, a partnership between Gilbane Development Co. of Providence, R.I., and Fairmount Properties of Cleveland. Gilbane and Fairmount were the developers and current operators. The developers leased the land from the University of Rochester to create and operate College Town.
Among the businesses leasing space in College Town are Barnes & Noble, CVS Pharmacy and Beerhead Bar & Eatery. There also is a 154-unit apartment community, Mt. Hope Lofts, which includes 10 units designated as affordable.
“With our purchase of College Town, we aim to build a greater sense of community and connectedness for students, employees, patients, visitors and neighbors,” university president Sarah Mangelsdorf said in a news release from the school last week. “The university’s new strategic plan and a planned update to the institutional campus master plan launching later this year will provide opportunities to reimagine how the development fits into university life.”

© 2022 Morris A. Pierce