Downtown Rochester Housing Workshop

In September 2018, the City of Rochester partnered with the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast to conduct a workforce housing charrette. The city selected 13-15 Hanson Street, currently a vacant lot, as the charrette project site. A housing charrette brings together a diverse cross-section of the community, including public officials, city staff, workers, employers, and general residents, together with a volunteer team of architects and housing developers, to engage in a collaborative planning session focused on a specific potential property. Workforce housing is housing that can be accommodated within the budget of the average working family in the community. This includes workers such as entry level factory workers, teachers, fire fighters, and office workers. Workforce housing differs from subsidized housing in that it is housing built by private developers using techniques so that the units can be sold or rented within a leaner budget than more luxury units.

The charrette was a two-day process, which began with a downtown walking tour. After the walking tour, the charrette team conducted two community listening sessions, held at the Rochester Perfomring Arts Center. The charrette team then regrouped to work collaboratively to craft design options for the project site which would include workforce housing units. The finished design concepts were then unveiled in a public presentation.

Downtown Housing Workshop - FINAL REPORT

Downtown Housing Workshop Maps and Information

"Rochester to host downtown housing charrette," Foster's (August 20, 2018)