ROCHESTER-Thanks to what could be about $50 million in state incentives, Fairport, NY-based Paetec will build a massive new corporate headquarters facility in the Downtown district here. Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced the new headquarters project at a press conference here on Tuesday detailing his “City by City” upstate redevelopment agenda. The Spitzer plan calls for the state to pay approximately $50 million to demolish the current Midtown Plaza complex and make it “shovel ready” for the Paetec development as well as for a second phase that calls for residential and commercial development.

Paetec's Chris Muller says the state incentives were necessary since the Midtown Plaza development, built in the 1960s, is mostly vacant and is contaminated with asbestos. The City of Rochester will be responsible for acquiring the Midtown Plaza site from its private owners.

The existing Midtown Plaza complex includes a 17-story office building and five other buildings containing approximately 1.5 million sf of retail and office space. An existing 1,843-space parking garage will be retained, Muller says.