Geneva residents can comment today on a proposed $38 million dollar development that would create 74 housing units on property currently owned by the Finger Lakes Times.
The city Planning Board is hosting a public hearing at its meeting on the site plan for the Lakeview Health Services project. The session starts at 6 p.m. and will be held in the meeting room on the second floor of City Hall.
The building, which has housed Finger Lakes Times operations for nearly 72 years, will be demolished to make way for a five-story development and offices.
There is opposition to the plan. Read the News Release below:
Press Release
For Immediate Release
May 16, 2025
Geneva’s Downtown Commerical Historic Faces Challenges
A 72-unit facility has been proposed in the City of Geneva by Lakeview Health Services. The facility, which will be five stories high, requires numerous approvals and variances from the Geneva Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals given its size and mass.
The facility would be in downtown Geneva’s historic district on a parcel currently owned by the Finger Lakes Times. If constructed, the facility, which is proposed to be over 19,000 square feet, would front on Genesee Street, Castle Street and Colt Street.
The facility would have 36 units devoted to people that qualify through the Office of Mental Health with income restrictions. According to the application, potential tenants must have a psychiatric diagnosis or serious mental illness, substance use disorder, risk of homelessness and/or are living with HIV/AIDS in order to be considered for the “supportive care units”. The remaining units are available for tenants with restricted incomes that apply to the Lakeview Health Services agency.
The facility is not in compliance with Geneva’s recently enacted Zoning Code, necessitating Lakeview Health Services application for waivers and variances. These include permission for substantially less on-site parking than required, as well as closer proximity to lot-lines and adjacent historic buildings than the zoning code allows.
Many Geneva residents oppose the project and question why so many exceptions to Geneva’s recently enacted Zoning Code are needed.
“The proposed building is just too big. Lakeview Health Services is asking for special permission to build a five-story building right up to the lot lines” says downtown resident and local developer David Linger. “The community has worked so hard to improve downtown. This project would adversely affect the Geneva’s historic business district. I have no problem with thoughtful appropriately sized infill development, but this is asking for too many exceptions to the Zoning Code. Common sense should prevail, but the public needs to have their voices heard.”
Comments on the Lakeview Health Services proposed project can be made at the upcoming meetings of the Geneva Planning Board on Wednesday May 21, 2025, and at the Geneva Zoning Board of Appeals on May 27, 2025. Both meetings are at the Geneva City Hall at 6 pm. Written comments can also be submitted to the Geneva City Clerk prior to the meeting dates.
