Tom Bonadio will lead the private fund-raising effort for Renaissance Square.
Bonadio, the managing partner of the Bonadio Group accounting firm, was tapped by the Main and Clinton Local Development Corp. He'll serve on a volunteer basis and plans to establish a team of six to 12 people to help him - a task he hopes to complete within the next "two to three weeks," he says.
"I think this is a very viable, very doable project," Bonadio said during a press conference this morning.
Project officials have commitments of $175 million to fund the Monroe Community College and bus station parts of the project. But $55 million is still needed to build the theater.
Bonadio will be in charge of raising about $15 million to $25 million from private donors - a sum that he says will require some seven-figure checks.
Before he committed to the task, Bonadio says that he spent three months working with project planners and partners to make sure "that the homework's been done." He's convinced that the project, in combination with PAETEC's proposed headquarters at Midtown and the new ESL headquarters, will help revitalize downtown. And, he says, the project's numbers are realistic.
"It could be a very difficult and challenging assignment," said County Executive Maggie Brooks.
Meanwhile, the project's environmental review is still under Federal Transit Administration review. Project planners expect to hold a public hearing on the environmental review in December and hope for approval by the end of January.
Brooks says that the environmental document is based on plans for three components, but planners have asked for the flexibility to build in stages if need be. That means the bus station and the college campus could be built prior to the theater.
Last week, US Senator Chuck Schumer again called for the Main and Clinton board to be prepared with a Plan B in case it can't raise enough money for the theater by January 31. If the county doesn't have a decision on what it will build by that date, it risks losing $19 million in federal money, he said.
Comments for "REN SQUARE: Theater fund-raising to begin; Bonadio tapped" (2)
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Doug Midkiff said on Nov. 19, 2008 at 8:41pm
Doesn't the fact that Trailways will spend its own money to build a pre-fabricated modular bus terminal at the Amtrak Station justify the argument that I and many others have been using for years, abandon the RenSquare project and use the money to build a permanent, well-designed intermodal station on the present Amtrak site? Having Trailways and other inter-city buses at that site will allow easy transfer of the ever-increasing number of Amtrak passengers to or from the bus lines. A new station, served by City buses, will also serve the new volume of Amtrak passengers arriving or departing from Rochester and the suburbs. Amtrak ridership on the Empire Corridor through Rochester has increased 23% so far this year.. Easy transfer between train and bus is especially critical to the many students of nearby colleges, such as Suny Geneseo and Suny Brockport, as well as U of R, MCC, and RIT. This should be pointed out Senator Schumer as a guide for him to use in allocating the money now committed (unwisely) to RenSquare.
NEONANTICHIRST said on Nov. 20, 2008 at 8:16am
I RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO A FUND RAISER FOR THE RENSQUARE ARTS CENTER ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2008. THE COST IS $1500.00 PER PERSON, WITH A THEATER SEAT BEING NAMED FOR YOU IF YOU SEND A CHECK. THE PROBLEM WITH THE INVITE IS THAT NOT ONE PERSONS NAME IS INCLUDED. THERE ARE NO BOARDS OF VOLUNTEERS, OR CHAIR PERSONS AS IS NORMALLY THE CASE IN THIS TYPE OF INVITE. THE BIGGER PROBLEM THOUGH WAS WHEN I LOOKED AT THE MAILING ADDRESS. IT HAD BEEN SENT TO MY BUSINESS ADDRESS, USING MY CORPORATE NAME, WHICH IS NOT HOW MY BUSINESS GOES BY. THE ONLY WAY SOMONE COULD HAVE RECEIVED THAT NAME WAS GOING THROUGH THE COUNTY RECORDS OF INCORPORATION. IF THIS IS HOW OUR CIVIC LEADERS ARE GATHERING THEIR MAIL LISTS, BY PRYING INTO BUSINESS CORPORATE INFORMATION, THAN THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS PROCESS OF FUND RAISING
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