Carriage Factory holds groundbreaking

Local officials gathered Thursday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the long-vacant Cunningham Carriage Factory, which is being converted into Carriage Factory Apartments.

Joining Mayor Thomas S. Richards were Lenny Skrill, assistant commissioner, state Homes and Community Renewal; R. Carlos Carballada, commissioner, Rochester Neighborhood and Business Development; Rochester  City Council member Dana Miller; and officials from DePaul, Monroe County and the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association.

Representatives from the Community Preservation Corporation as well as Goldman Sachs were on hand for the ceremony to mark the start of DePaul’s $23 million redevelopment of the four-story building at 33 Litchfield St., creating 71 rental units of supportive housing for individuals with special needs.

The development is moving forward with the help of a $3.3 million award from the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Council initiative. The state’s investment, administered by HCR, will leverage more than $11.6 million in equity investment and funds from the city and the CPC.

Originally home to the Cunningham Carriage Factory and Companies, the 73,000 square-foot building is one of Rochester’s oldest manufacturing plants, built in 1910 to manufacture handmade customized horse-drawn carriages.