ROCHESTER, New York — The city of Rochester, New York, recently held a ceremonial groundbreaking for renovations to the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
The $13 million project includes much-needed capital improvements to the existing facility and will create an additional 1,650 square feet of space on the Main Street side of the convention center.
The addition will provide a smaller, modern event space for the conventions center’s use and for rentals, with a glass front looking out onto Main Street that “will push forward and brighten the appearance of the convention center,” Mayor Malik Evans said during a press conference in early January.
The project includes additional bathrooms inside the facility, as well as a new LED display panel for advertising and events, new landscape planters, new doors and critical repairs of the exterior building envelope and site. The south terrace steps will also be eliminated and sloped to be ADA accessible.
“The convention center isn’t just a gathering place — it’s one of the first places in Rochester that many visitors will see,” Evans said. “If you’re coming to a conference or event, it takes place right here, so we want to make sure that it is welcoming and inviting.”
Plans to update and expand the convention center have been under discussion for many years, “long before many of us have been in elected office,” he added. The project is part of the city’s ROC the Riverway initiative, a comprehensive plan designed to revitalize the waterfront area.
The original 2018 ROC the Riverway Vision Plan called for a small addition on the southeast corner of the convention center, along with terrace and river wall improvements. But during the design process, it became apparent that a building addition facing Main Street would have a greater positive impact for the RRCC due to both the location and amount of expanded event space. The addition will create a modernized and inviting connection to Main Street that will improve local and visitor experiences, leveraging the recently completed Main Street streetscape improvement project.
“This will orient the convention center to the river, which you know we have been trying to do,” Evans said.
Renovations are expected to be completed by late 2026, and the convention center will remain open during construction. The center has 100,000 square feet of accessible, convertible space, with banquet seating for up to 3,500 people and theater style seating for 5,000 people. The facility has exhibit space for up to 400 booths as well as 25 meeting rooms.
For more information, visit rrcc.com.
