WXXI: County Will Seek Ren Square Money from Federal Package (2009-01-05)

As municipalities around the country queue up for federal aid doled out under an Obama administration stimulus package, Monroe County is also outlining its request.

Noah Lebowitz, the spokesperson for the county, says local officials are working with Governor David Paterson to find federal economic stimulus package money for the Renaissance Square project.

Monroe County says its priorities for federal funding are transportation, education and other infrastructure needs - and that Renaissance Square is one of those priorities.

Renaissance Square is the transit center, community college and theater complex slated for the corner of Main Street and Clinton Avenue in downtown Rochester. The planners of that project have been seeking private funds along with state dollars for the theater component, for a total cost of $55 million.

Monroe County executive Maggie Brooks is a member of the board of Renaissance Square, and in the past has said that the project was seeking $30 million in state funding.

Last week, Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy released a list of $51 million worth of projects that he says would create up to 2,000 jobs in the first year, if funded through the federal package.