Public hearing on tax relief program for downtown building set for next Tuesday

The 79E program allows owners to pay a property's current tax assessment for a period of years after improvements are made that would normally increase the tax burden. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - A week from today a public hearing will be held on whether the city should approve a tax relief program for a small two-story building at 91 North Main Street.
The property, the site of the former Michael Charles music store, is currently assessed at $370,000 with an estimated market price of $425,000, according to zillow.com.
According to an application received by the city, the owner says they will keep the second-floor residential, but will convert the downstairs from retail to a cafe.
The owner, Angela Matthews, expects the total cost of the rehabilitation will be around $174,000.
To get the tax relief program known as 79-E, the refurbishment of property must be for the public good. In her application Matthews notes that it "enhances the economic vitality of the downtown, enhances and improves a structure that is culturally or historically important, promotes development of municipal centers and is in a historic district."
The 79E program allows owners to pay a property's current tax assessment for a period of years after improvements are made that would normally increase the tax burden. In the case of 91 North Main Street, that deferment would last five years.

Next Tuesday's public hearing begins at 6 p.m.