260 East Broad Street

Bergmann was engaged in design and construction of 260 East Broad Street, a new five-story, mixed-use development located in Downtown Rochester on the corner of South Clinton Avenue and East Broad Street. The building is approximately 107,000 square feet and is located along a primary commuting route into Downtown Rochester. It is being constructed over an existing three-story, below-grade parking garage. The development of 260 East Broad Street is an important part of the resurgence of Downtown Rochester and a keystone project that will support economic activity in the area.

Bergmann is working in partnership with Buckingham Properties and LeFrois Builders as the architectural and engineering design team for this project, which was completed in 2021.

The building design includes steel frame construction that uses the existing garage column grid with brick, cementitious panels, aluminum composite panels, stone and curtainwall assemblies. The building layout comprises a shared ground floor lobby that leads to multiple retail spaces and a loading dock area. The lobby also connects to dedicated commercial spaces on levels two and three that will be developed for the primary anchor tenant. This commercial space includes a dedicated outdoor roof patio on level two. Levels four and five include 28 residential apartments, most with dedicated balconies, as well as a shared-access fourth-floor roof deck.

Bergmann was challenged to create design solutions for a mixed-use project that would house a commercial anchor tenant, while also providing for retail, dining and living spaces. In doing so, the team recognized the importance of the site both in its scale along the vehicular ‘entrance’ into the city, but also as an integral component of the city’s fabric.

Bergmann created several design elements intended to provide the users of this building and the adjacent site with varying experiences. Moving from west to east, the building progressively reduces in scale while also being clad in varying materials. This provides for a series of experiences intended to promote pedestrian usage of neighboring sites.

The northeast corner is designed to offer residents an outdoor roof deck with views of Midtown Commons, an active event site throughout the year. Additionally, ‘stepping-down’ the building’s scale to the east allows it to align with neighboring Tower 280. The goal of this alignment is to provide a pedestrian-friendly dining corridor – linking Midtown Commons with the future development of Innovation Square at the former Xerox Tower.