Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren wants to offer tax incentives to those who build new single-family or two-family homes in the city. The only deal is that the housing has to be owner -occupied.
The city has had some success in developing housing around town, but the Mayor’s Office says 90 percent of that development has been in rental units. The city currently offers tax breaks for single and double family homes in the center city through Imagine Monroe, the county’s industrial development authority. Warren wants to take the program city-wide to encourage new development in city neighborhoods.
The current program offers new home builders a 90 percent property tax rebate in year one, descending to a 10 percent rebate in year nine and back to the regular tax rate after ten years. The city says it has more than 600 cleared lots in mid-to-high value neighborhoods that it sees turning into new housing if Imagine Monroe approves the program expansion.