The Town + Gown of Geneseo
Welcome to Geneseo - Livingston County’s Seat and home to the State University of New York at Geneseo. Geneseo offers a quality of life that perfectly balances rural and urban living. You will find our unique historic community nestled in stunning landscapes, productive farms, and scenic waterways. It is the center of commerce, government, social interaction, entertainment, and education in the County. It’s here that residents meet, shop, access services, dine and share ideas – in the same historic buildings and public spaces that have hosted these activities for generations. Students from all points of the globe interact with locals.
Since 2011, more than $3.3 million has been invested in historic building rehabilitations, streetscape enhancements and infrastructure improvements in the Village’s Historic Main Street District. This investment has attracted businesses, residents, and visitors to the downtown as well as larger development in the town surrounding it. Our office is regularly involved in revitalization efforts in the Downtown District. Several long-standing community groups support the district including the Association for the Preservation of Geneseo, Geneseo Community Main Street, and Promote Geneseo.
The presence of SUNY Geneseo in the downtown district presents a significant opportunity. Because of its close proximity to the Main Street district, SUNY Geneseo is integral to the success of the village, and efforts are continually made to advance mutually beneficial programs that integrate students into community life. Geneseo's Center for Integrative Learning facilitates creative partnerships between the college and the community. Through this partnership, past projects have included students in communications courses researching and evaluating the promotional initiatives of several local attractions. Student interns have worked closely with community groups to market and staff downtown events and produced community newsletters to promote events throughout the county. The School of Business has introduced a comprehensive program in entrepreneurship including an incubator program where students grow their own businesses. The retention of young professionals as they graduate is important to the economic vitality of Geneseo and Livingston County.
The downtown area of Geneseo which encompasses the area surrounding the college campus is where approximately 70% of the village’s population resides and a location that attracts visitors year-round including faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. The college is a major economic driver and its 5,700 graduate and undergraduate students inject a healthy dose of commerce, vitality, and social and artistic expression into the community. Geneseo’s traditional and historic Main Street district borders the college to the east. This mixed-use district is home to restaurants, retail, and upper floor residential with ample open space for patrons. Commercial and residential space in downtown Geneseo has a vacancy rate that is regularly below 5%, illustrating the demand for real estate in this district.
Court Street runs along the northern border of the campus. It is anchored on one end by the County Government Center which brings hundreds of employees and the public to the downtown district on a daily basis. Route 63 borders the campus to the west and is lined by developable farmland with future potential to house mixed-use development including office and commercial space and townhomes or multi-family structures which could provide more flexible, limited maintenance housing for empty nesters as they retire or young professionals.
Geneseo’s downtown district is extremely accessible and within a 20-mile radius of every town and village in Livingston County. I-390, western New York’s only north-south expressway runs through Geneseo, making it easy to access for our rural neighbors to the south and the north. Geneseo’s population continues to increase and vacancy rates remain low. The entire Village of Geneseo is realistically walkable and certainly bikeable to the identified downtown district, providing a regular customer base of 8000+ people. Several public services, major employers, and tourism attractions in the area are also responsible for bringing additional traffic into the downtown district daily. Due to its character and location in relation to major transportation routes, Geneseo is the primary downtown destination for Livingston County residents. The rural landscape of the towns and villages surrounding Geneseo makes it an easy and logical drive for the County’s 65,000 residents, as well as for those from neighboring communities in Wyoming County.
Working with our office, the Village of Geneseo has seen significant investment since 2011. Design Guidelines have been developed and adopted to advise building renovations. More than $1.7 million in Livingston County Sign and Façade funds, New York Main Street Grant funds, and private matching funds have renovated 28% of Geneseo’s downtown building stock. $60,000 has been invested in streetscape enhancements, including the installation of pedestrian scale lighting along Main and Center Streets. $1.5 million was invested in a Main Street Infrastructure project including water, sewer, sidewalk, curbs and street rehabilitation.
In 2012 the historic Wadsworth Homestead, a 300-acre estate at the terminus of Main Street, was completely restored and opened to the public for house tours and as an event center. In 2015, the historic Riviera Theater on Center Street was renovated and restored after 20 years of neglect and is now a thriving art and cultural center. That same year fire consumed one of the few remaining timber buildings in the downtown. Within one year, the lost building was rebuilt using the village’s established design guidelines to ensure that the historic character of the village was retained.
Three local volunteer groups have been formed that play a vital role in Geneseo’s revitalization. Promote Geneseo manages the Geneseo tourism website, extensive print materials, social media marketing, and numerous forms of outreach to college students and their families. Geneseo Community Main Street is a coalition of business owners and residents working together on highly successful events in the downtown district: May Day Wine Stroll, Summer Sip and Stroll, Choco frolic, Summerfest, Autumnfest, and Christmasing are their largest annual events. Over 45 volunteers serve actively within these organizations. The Association for the Preservation of Geneseo organized the restoration of the mile-long historic stone wall that creates a unique gateway into the historic district. Over 10,000 volunteer hours have been logged with financial contributions from the community of over $50,000.
In 2016, a USDA grant for $79,000 was awarded to the Letchworth Gateway Villages Initiative; a three-year collaborative initiative to advance regional economic growth and new tourism-related market opportunities for Geneseo and two neighboring Main Street districts that serve as “gateways” to the area’s #1 tourist destination: Letchworth State Park. With over 700,000 visitors annually, Letchworth State Park’s notoriety presents a momentous opportunity for these three villages to come together and maximize their promotional efforts. In addition to the Park, the region is poised to capitalize on its strong agricultural industry, scenic byways, historic districts, and arts and culture as the travel market for food tourism, sustainability, and off-the-beaten-track experiences continue to grow.
Completed in 2017, the Economic Development Strategic Plan for Livingston County takes a look at the relationship between population and talent and the County’s future potential in terms of growth and employment opportunities. The plan cites research from Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research which indicates that the economic development world has seen a shift in the key drivers of the business location and hiring decisions: employers follow population and talent, and regions with concentrations of highly-skilled or reliable talent are experiencing growth and investment. The insinuation, as a result, is that jobs will not attract professionals, but rather a focus on the attraction of population and talent will help to attract jobs – a condition that makes Geneseo ripe for development and expansion.
“In the heart of Livingston County, find Geneseo”
Economic activity at the county level has been significant. In 2016 alone the Livingston County Economic Development took action on eight projects representing an investment of more than $57 million by expanding businesses in Livingston County. These projects will retain 213 jobs and create 135 more. Improvements to County Industrial Parks are leading to more focused and aggressive marketing efforts. The county is working on several projects, one of which will include the expansion of a business located in downtown Geneseo which will create 50 new jobs.
In the past few years, we have seen development opportunities moving south from Rochester. A $2.3 million CFA award in 2016 towards the creation of a new Industrial Park is evidence of the need for developable land and testament to the amenities that Livingston County has to offer. Livingston County has hundreds of acres of developable land, a strong workforce, and an excellent quality of life. Industrial Parks just north and east of the Geneseo downtown district has the potential to attract businesses whose employees will need a place to live, shop, and play. Geneseo offers a number of amenities, including historic downtown, premier educational institutions, quality healthcare, and outdoor recreational opportunities. As we further enhance and develop amenities in the downtown district it can become a residential and recreational location of choice for regional workers. Both the Baby Boomer generation as they downsize, and the millennials as they graduate and begin working may desire housing that provides the flexibility of smaller footprints and limited maintenance requirements. Livingston County’s two largest employers are located in downtown Geneseo – the County and the College. Small businesses along the district’s traditional core employ an approximate, combined 300 people. Within a 5-mile radius, the Geneseo Central School district, commercial development including Walmart and Wegmans, and several major employers including Coast Professional and American Rock Salt create a market of another 1000+ employees.
Geneseo’s downtown is nationally recognized with a rich history, landmark status, and an unmatched variety of architectural styles. In comparing it to other communities in Livingston County and beyond, its many unique attributes collectively define a quality we call “centeredness.” Main Street is well-defined at both ends rather than being simple densification of a highly-trafficked thoroughfare; a dense urban center radiates from a central fountain, and the downtown is bounded by a park-like corridor to the south and on the north by a tree-lined promenade of stately homes and porches. In 1991, Geneseo was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service called Geneseo, “one of the most remarkably preserved villages in northwestern New York” adding that, “Geneseo is one of the best examples of picturesque architecture and town planning… The cohesive quality of the surviving town displays a textbook of styles and is almost unique in American architectural history….”
Within the designated downtown district, housing types span a wide variety including large historic homes, residential neighborhoods, mixed-use buildings with shops on the lower level and apartments on the upper level as well as apartment complexes for mid-lower income families and college students. The local businesses cater to the diverse population in Geneseo offering up a variety of cuisine, services, and retail options. Walkability and bike-ability in the downtown district is relatively simple and could be improved with the enhancement of crosswalks for pedestrians and bike lanes for bicyclists. Public parking is available on the street as well as in a public parking lot that could also be enhanced with new surfacing and better signage.
In the summer, downtown Geneseo serves as host to the Geneseo Farmers’ Market each Thursday afternoon. Located at the heart of the downtown, Center Street is closed to vehicles while the Farmers’ Market is in full swing. The market offers residents and visitors a taste of the local produce, artisan works, music and overall great time for people of all ages. Many of the downtown restaurants provide outdoor seating in the summertime for customers to enjoy the beautiful setting while dining. The Geneseo Veterans Memorial Park is also located within the downtown district and offers a beautiful setting for various festivals and events throughout the year.
Geneseo’s wealth of nearby natural assets also makes it a special place to live. Natural features around the downtown include the stunning landscapes of Letchworth State Park, known as the “Grand Canyon of the East” and voted “Best State Park” in 2015 by the readers of USA Today. Hemlock and Conesus Lakes provide additional recreational opportunities as part of an extensive network of waterways, hiking, biking, and snowmobile trails that help to support the very active four-season lifestyle of Geneseo’s residents. The environment also has a significant influence on the character of downtown. The State University of New York at Geneseo is a premier public liberal arts college located in the heart of the community. Highly ranked in national publications for academic quality and value. The National Warplane Museum, also in Geneseo has become a regional destination attracting thousands of visitors from all over the world. The Museum has over 1,000 members and is Western New York’s only hands-on warplane museum that operates with an active runway and has 15 vintage warbirds in its collection.
The Village of Geneseo and Livingston County understand the importance of quality of life and the role that the downtown district plays in creating a sense of place. Through its work with the Downtown Partnership, Geneseo has developed and adopted design guidelines to advise renovations when rehabilitating historic storefronts in the designated downtown district. Façade guidelines are intended to aid owners of buildings undergoing façade renovations, in contributing to the creation of a vibrant, safe, and pedestrian-friendly downtown. Façade elements such as signs, colors, lighting, awnings, windows and doors, siding materials, and detailing all make a significant contribution to the character and identity of the street. Requiring compliance with design guidelines for all buildings receiving grant funding has proven to be extremely beneficial. In addition to preserving our history, the transformations that have taken place in our downtown have helped to attract businesses, visitors, residents, and additional renovations.
A study prepared by LaBella Associated, which looked at alternatives to improve circulation, parking, safety, and aesthetics of the commercial core, provided many recommendations. A Community Workshop was held at the Central Presbyterian Church on Center Street to solicit public input on alternatives to improve circulation, parking, aesthetics, and parking in the study area. Approximately 30 residents and steering committee members attended the meeting. A Transportation Connectivity Plan conducted by Livingston County’s Planning Department included a Pilot Plan for the Village of Geneseo as a template for how municipalities can customize the strategies in the plan to meet their needs. The Pilot Plan includes a list of projects including cost and timeframe based on recommendations from previous plans and studies and suggestions from the public and stakeholders. While much of the past investment has been used to fund rehabilitative and developmental work in the Historic District, much of the future investment will be used to provide connectivity and build-out of the Market District. This next phase of growth will enhance the livability of the Village by creating a welcoming environment, designed to attract and retain residents from all over Livingston County, provide a destination for tourists, offer amenities and experiences sought by college students and their visiting parents while most importantly, allowing many to take advantage of the quality-of-life presented by what Geneseo and its surrounding communities have to offer.
The Village has several natural landmarks that reside on the borders of the designated downtown area. Main Street is bookended by the County Offices on the north side while the historic Wadsworth Homestead stands at the south end. The College campus sits to the west side of Main Street overlooking the Genesee Valley. The north end (or “Market District”) provides the greatest opportunity for growth through adaptive reuse and redevelopment. While a large portion of this area is residential housing, there are a few areas that allow for commercial expansion to satisfy an increasing demand that exists in the area. Currently, turnover on Main Street is very low and when it does happen, properties and buildings are quickly secured by those seeking space.
Identifying and providing for consistency throughout the designated area is another one of our components to the revitalization around the College and throughout the downtown. Clearly marked crosswalks and pedestrian-friendly lighting and banners for students and residents are vital for the accessibility to the existing and proposed shops and buildings which comprise downtown and the campus. Inset brick crosswalks establish a traffic calming effect to accommodate and incentivize walkability. These designs also connect areas together with an impression of consistency and branding. Access to capital is an identified need for burgeoning small businesses and entrepreneurs, alike. Without it, a business opportunity can find itself with a great business concept and no way to bring it to market. To support the business incubator and encourage innovation, this critical component of our strategy exists to give some the chance to succeed.
The Village of Geneseo maintains within its boundaries a historic district that was established in 1991 as a National Historic Landmark. The history of the downtown area dates back to 1789, making it an attraction for history buffs and curious minds. The Genesee Valley Greenway is less than 1.5 miles west of Geneseo and is a 90-mile trail that runs along old canals, abandoned rail beds, and riverbanks. It passes through scenic woodlands, river and stream valleys, rolling farmlands, steep gorges, and historic villages located in sixteen towns in Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, Allegany, and Cattaraugus counties in New York State. The Greenway also provides access to several other trails including the Erie Canal Trail and the Finger Lakes Trail. This connection will encourage healthy living and give runners, walkers, and bikers living in the district the opportunity to take advantage of the scenic trails around the Geneseo area, while also bringing travelers into the downtown district.
