ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced the winning proposal for the final parcel, Parcel 7, in the Inner Loop East Transformation Project.

The development will be a partnership between Geva Theatre and PathStone. The “education and engagement” center will feature practice and rehearsal space for Geva.

PathStone is a non-profit organization that specializes in workforce development, education and health services, community development, and housing opportunities.

Developer David Lubin, leader of Elmira-based L Enterprises, sits on a dusty old chair on a cracked concrete walkway that’s filled with weeds, gazing out beneath his trademark baseball cap. Occasionally, construction vehicles that don’t seem to be doing much of anything loudly pass by, forcing him to pause his sentence while they kick up dust and gravel.

I had the opportunity to accompany my former Oakwood Avenue neighbor (mid-1950s) and lifelong friend Kent Diebolt on a tour of Buffalo’s Central Terminal last week. What a privilege. While most visitors are relegated to the outside where they gawk at the deteriorating, but still stately, 270-foot-tall Art Deco icon that watched over Buffalo’s bustling rail lines in the mid-20th century, Kent had the keys and the security code.

It was only a couple of years back when residents of Buffalo were eagerly awaiting news about the future of the Central Terminal. Developers Harry Stinson and Doug Swift were taking a serious whack at plans to restore the complex. On one hand, it sounded like the site might be a good fit for the film industry. At around the same time, there were hopes that The City would choose the Central Terminal as the preferred Amtrak site. Fans and supporters of The Central Terminal were enthused that there was so much positivity surrounding the historic art deco station – it seemed as if any day an announcement would be made, claiming victory for the rail monument.