Fair starts building up for the future
by Joseph Spector, Staff Writer
HENRIETTA, NY -- Monroe County Fair organizers said Wednesday that ongoing improvements to the fairgrounds will have little impact on the annual fair when it starts next week.
As the Monroe County Fair and Recreation Association officially broke ground on $2.6 million in removations to the Henrietta property, officials said the goal is to have the work completed later this year. But for the short term, leaders want to ensure little disturbance when the fair runs from July 12-16. The main issue will be relocating some parking, officials said.
The renovations are part of a $12 million master plan to rehabilitate the 50-acre site off East Henrietta and Calkins roads, called the Fair & Expo Center.
The facility -- which includes the 2,100 seat Dome Center and the smaller Minett Hall -- last
year hosted more than 100 events, such as trade shows and conventions.
The long term plan calls for a 40,000-square-foot exhibition building and an indoor arena for horse shows and small-vehicle racing. But, that's a 10-year plan and will require a variety of public and private funding.
For now, fair officials are focusing largely on infrastructure work. The 2.6 million renovation includes a new main entrance that will link the Dome Arena and Minett Hall on the south side.
The south parking lot will be redone and paved, utility lines will be put underground and picnic areas will be added.
Money for the work came from the roughly $3 million sale of 30 adjacent acres to Wegmans Food
Markets in 2004.
The fair association is a nonprofit organization that began in 1823 as the Monroe Agricultural Society. It runs on a $1 million budget and is funded largely through fees for the use of the facilities. The Dome Arena and Minett Hall facility were built in 1972.
"Our vision is to make this complex a meeting place for all types of events, events that will impact the economy of the region, as well as create opportunities for us to better serve our mission of supporting youth, agriculture and technology," said Fran Tepper, the association's executive director.
At the ground-breaking ceremony, Tepper was joined by board President Barbara Pierce, County Executive Maggie Brooks and Assemblyman Joseph Erigo, R-Conesus, Livingston County.
(jspector@democratandchronicle.com)
Wegmans site work slated for spring
by Marketta Gregory, Staff Writer
HENRIETTA -- After about a six-month delay, Wegmans Food Markets Inc. announced that site work on a new grocery store in Henrietta will begin in the spring.
The company delayed the Henrietta project because it had other projects it neeeded to handle first, said Henrietta Supervisor Jim Breese. Still, people were talking about the somewhat contentious project that was rejected by the Town board in a 3 to 2 vote in 2003. A scaled-back version was approved, 4 to 1, by the board in 2005.
"There was some concern in the community over the six-month delay," he said. "Rumors were going around that maybe they would never do this, so from the town's perspective, we're pleased that Wegmans has reaffirmed its committment to build."
Construction on the Calkins Road site could start as early as the fall, said Jo Natale, spokewswoman for Wegmans. Customers can expect to be browsing the aisles in a larger store sometime in 2008,
Wegmans has approval for a facility of up to 130,000 square feet, but the size won't be determined untiul the final design plan is in place, Natale said.
The size of the project is 30 acres of former Monroe County fairgrounds property that Wegmans purchased from the Monroe County Fair and Recreation association in 2005.
"I think most people in the town want this project and are looking forward to it," said Breese who has supported the project throughout.
But Sharon Marini would prefer that they leave her small Wegmans alone.
I have nothing against Wegmans expanding, but my feeling is that a large Wegmans in that location is unnecessary," she said. There's a large one on Hylan Drive."
Besides, small stores will have a place and a purpose, she said. "I'm a busy working mother. You want to get in and out quickly."
(mgregory@democratandchronicle.com)