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City Council has approved the sale of Nathaniel Hawthorne School No. 25 to the Ibero-American Development Corp. The former elementary school and surrounding campus will be transformed into an affordable housing apartment complex, with 29 apartments units so far.
The Nathaniel Hawthorne School, previously a Pre-K through 6th grade elementary school, closed its operations after it was relocated in a reconfiguration plan to 190 Reynolds St. in 2023. The school at 965 N. Goodman St. has been vacant since 2020. The property and a neighboring lot at 576 Bay St. sold for $820,000.
Plans for the school campus include a housing facility and possible expansion on the neighboring lot. Units will be marketed to qualified low-income tenants with incomes between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“IADC’s commitment to affordable housing and building community is the driving force for us in any project, be it housing or be it community involvement,” says Eugenio Marlin, executive vice president. “We’re looking at about another 20, maybe another 29 (units) on the (neighboring lot).”
City documents on the sale describe a proposed development of approximately $26 million, with repairs and renovation of the former school slated alongside construction of additional housing.
Marlin says his team is in the process of evaluating what work needs to be done.
“We do have a team of architects, engineers, and everybody else looking at environmental issues and all those things involved,” he notes. “It’s a process. We’ve got to go out there and find the funding, and hopefully it will be fast.”
Closing on the sale is anticipated in 2026, with construction expected to begin within the year and be completed in 2028.
Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort.
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This is the problem with the current process for creating affordable housing. So for $820K + $26M Ibero will build 29+20 apartments. THIS IS OVER $547K PER APARTMENT!
The current average home value (approximate on Zillow):
14609 $199K
Rochester $236K
Monroe County $278K
Yes, but that is the reality we liv in.
Market Value and Replacement/Cost to build are two very different things. Units cost more than the market can and will pay due to material and labor costs. And you really can’t build it cheaper. Building costs now in the area are a minimum of $300-$450 per square foot, which means it could cost you $300k or more to build a single 1000 SF unit without a basement. Nobody is paying $300-$450k for 1000 SF.
You really can’t build new or renovate these buildings and expect the market to bear it. They are all subsidized with state/federal dollars. If you see a builder doing new houses, they are either subsidized or the purchaser is willing to pay more for new than they can resell for.