Philanthropist Tom Golisano is withdrawing his $25 million gift for the proposed Performing Arts Center in downtown Rochester.
Last month, city officials announced that the site of the proposed theater complex will move from Midtown Parcel 5 to the Riverfront, and the estimated price and size of the complex nearly doubled.
Plans call for the Riverside Hotel to be torn down and a new hotel to be added to the complex — which will also include retail and residential space, and a garage. The complex would cost an estimated $250 million — up from the $130 million estimate for what had been proposed for Parcel 5.
In a statement Golisano says he made the decision to support the construction of a performing arts center in 2016, and now two years later he says the project is no closer to becoming a reality. He goes on to say that because the project has changed dramatically in scope, it is now no longer in line with his philanthropic priorities.
Rochester Broadway Theater League Chairman Arnie Rothschild says the project will move forward despite this announcement. He spoke personally with Golisano and says it was a tough conversation.