The Canandaigua City Council has taken the next step in approving a project for a 27-acre residential project in the city’s northeast quadrant. The move comes after an in-depth discussion at Wednesday’s meeting, which was rescheduled from Monday due to a lack of quorum, as FingerLakes1.com previously reported.
The development, proposed by Canandaigua Homes LLC, is slated for land fronting Stewart Place, North Road, and Kennedy Street. The council approved the sketch plan submission, allowing it to proceed to the city’s Planning Commission and the Ontario County Planning Board for further review.
A central issue in the discussion was affordability. Council members questioned whether homes could be priced in the $200,000 to $250,000 range to accommodate workforce housing needs. However, Rob Renner, representing Canandaigua Homes, explained that rising construction and infrastructure costs made that pricing unrealistic. Instead, homes are expected to start in the low to mid-$300,000 range.
“The idea of building a home for $250,000 is just not feasible,” Renner said, citing current market conditions and required development costs.
Infrastructure requirements were also a sticking point, particularly regarding sidewalks and curbing. Some council members pushed for sidewalks on both sides of the streets, but Renner argued the additional cost—estimated between $230,000 and $300,000—would make the project financially unviable. The council and developers agreed to explore compromises, such as swapping granite curbing for concrete to free up funds for additional sidewalks.
The next step in the process is a public hearing, scheduled for March 31, to discuss rezoning the development site from single-family residential to PUD.
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