VOTE: Who Has The Best Plan For The Rochester Armory Building?

The Rochester City Council recently met to go over plans for the future of the Rochester Armory Building. There are currently five groups vying to have their plans chosen to develop the building, and there are some interesting options. Let’s figure out which one is the most appealing.

Castle Community Group

Their Plan: An arts and cultural community center. Think art studios, a retail art store, a record store, a room for wedding receptions, a book store, and a $1.2 million restaurant/bar with a local top chef.

My Take: This is my second choice. I’m all about beefing up our local arts scene, so this is pretty cool. And I’m always down for more options when it comes to tasty food – provided I wouldn’t need a medical degree to be able to afford eating there. Not sure we need a new book store in the year 2017, though. Just sayin’.

Titan/Kraus-Anderson

Their Plan: 24 living units, local art gallery, retail space

My Take: More apartments! Woohoo! No thanks. BORING.

Entourage Events Group and Fine Line Café

Their Plan: Live entertainment venue for concerts, comedy shows, singers, host galas, events, and non-profits

My Take: Hell yeah. This seems like one of the best possible outcomes for Rochester. We could use more live music, and the people behind this group have a lot of experience doing this up in the Twin Cities. I believe they’re the same people who help run the Zombie Pub Crawl, too.

The Creative Castle

Their Plan: Office spaces, a restaurant

My Take: I’m not really seeing a lot to love here, unless the potential restaurant has mind-blowingly good food.

Arts Collaborative Initiative

Their Plan: Creating a space for local artists while keeping the building under local ownership

My Take: Again, I’m cool with supporting the local arts, but this doesn’t grab me as much as the others.

Which plan gets your vote?

Source: KROC-AM