Over the past decade, the Medley Center in Irondequoit has received nearly $4 million worth of property tax breaks through the now-defunct Empire Zone program. Unfortunately, Bersin Properties LLC, who owns the mall, has made no progress towards a makeover that was promised proposed in 2009. As a result, Rochester’s leaders are calling for meetings to review development plans and decide whether or not the nearly-empty mall should continue receiving the tax breaks.

Leading the charge is State Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle. In a letter to Empire State Development Executive Director Kenneth Adams on Wednesday he wrote, “despite assurances by Bersin that the redevelopment would be near completion at this time, the situation at Medley Centre has deteriorated to the point that I believe raises serious doubts about whether Bersin is meeting its obligations to continue in this program.”

“State taxpayers are essentially paying the bill for Bersin to not develop this important economic asset,” Morelle said. He also added that, if it turns out Bersin is not meeting the terms of the Empire Zone agreement, “I urge you to immediately take whatever steps are necessary to protect the public interest.”

Morelle is hardly the only Rochesterian who wants to dig into the matter further. Arnie Rothschild, head of the Rochester Broadway Theater Legion, wants leaders to hold off on legal action before meeting with Medley Center developer Scott Congel, who has been silent on the matter.

“We either find a way to do this or we say we’re not moving forward,” Rothschild said. “If we all get in a room and we fail, then we walk out in front of cameras together and say, ‘Here’s where we got locked up. Here’s why we can’t do this deal.’”
The main concern that the parties involved seem to share is that tax payers are being exploited by the lack of development. Irondequoit Supervisor Adam Bello, to some extent, echoed Morelle’s thoughts that taxpayers have been unfairly footing the $4 million bill.

“Mr. Congel must understand that the people of Irondequoit and Monroe County have invested much on this project,” Bello said. “The time has come for Mr. Congel to do the same.”

For Bersin, one of the key terms for receiving the tax breaks was to develop the Medley Center and add jobs to the community. Now, with just two open stores and one on the verge of closing down, the opposite is continuing to happen.

Macy’s is set to leave Irondequoit on April 22nd, leaving Sears as the only remaining store and resulting in 82 layoffs. The combination of job loss and lack of maintenance — there was a water main break in January, just days after problems were reported at the Medley Center pump station — are largely to blame for administrators’ displeasure with Bersin.

With the Medley Center in such a state of disrepair, Bersin will likely need to renovate if it hopes to attract new businesses and move on with development. They’ll have to be creative in the materials they use, and will need to keep the long-term in mind. If development starts right away, and concrete is included in the plans, for example, proper installation will be vital to make sure it has the proper strength and durability for what should become a high-traffic area. The mall will need to update its facilities to compete with other malls for not only customers, but stores, restaurants and other attractions.

Regardless of the plans Breslin does or does not have to renovate, they’ll have to do some serious work, both physically and politically, if they want to alleviate public concerns and move forward with the project.