City of Corning leaders angered by lack of progress on planned housing at Northside Place – Corning Leader

Corning City Mayor Bill Boland and Deputy Mayor Alison Hunt say they fully share the anger felt by some Northside residents about the lack of progress at Northside Place.

Jay Benesh, general manager at Riedman Homes, said the Rochester-based company still plans to build 25 single-family homes at the former Northside School site.

Plans to build a second single-family home at the site, first announced in September 2021, are currently on hold, Benesh said. There are no changes to the overall plan, but we are kind of reevaluating things. But at this point we havent changed the plans.

Work, which started in early 2020with the construction of a spec house, was first delayed by COVID-19, then by associatedrising costs and delays in getting construction materials.

I can understand the concerns, said Hunt at the February Corning City Council meeting. The work at the site has been terrible and the city should be concerned. I walked up to the one house at the site, looked at the price, and said, 'Who is going to buy that little house?'I understand that.

Boland called the work at the former Northside Blodgett site terrible.

Related: Northside school site cleared, ready for next step (July 2018)

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The comments made by Boland and Hunt were during a meeting in which the City Council shot down plans to build an apartment complex targeting low-income families at the former St. Vincent de Paul Church campus.

Benesh had no comment in response to Boland or Hunts comments.

Several Northside residents who watched the February council meeting on Zoom at the Corning VFW expressed concerns about the school site.

We have one model home and a vacant lot sitting there and the homes are far overpriced compared to every other really well-kept home in the area, said Georgina Santilli, a Princeton Avenue resident.

Deborah Beck, also of Princeton Avenue, called Northside Place a "failed project."

I call it 'the wasteland,' Beck said. Youve got two big piles of dirt with weeds growing out of it. There is wire mess that animals are getting caught in. Whats going to happen with that development? We do need the city to help us develop the property at Northside Blodgett.

City Councilman Mark ReSue remains concerned that the cost of the new homes is just too high, expected to range from $336,900 to $377,900.

Benesh said a key benefit of buying a home at Northside Place is the houses are built in a plot organized with the state as a condominium development, which reduces school, city and county taxes about 40% on those properties.

'Condominiumization' is a method of dividing a parcel to allow independent ownership of each lot it does not change the zoning or permitted uses of a parcel or lot, according to officials.

Benesh said there is a self-guided tour available at the currently completed house at Northside Place on Cayuta Street.

"You can walk up to the front door at the home and take a tour from dawn to dusk," Benesh said. "What we have tried to do is make the tour as simple as possible so people can see the quality that we offer."

Benesh said people can also go to riedman.com to learn more about home options at the site.

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City of Corning leaders angered by lack of progress on planned housing at Northside Place - Corning Leader