Rome to hold late-January public meeting on future redevelopment of former Columbus School site

Public engagement on a long-vacant downtown property

The City of Rome is continuing its public-engagement process on the future of the former Columbus School site, a 2.8-acre property that has remained vacant and is being evaluated for potential redevelopment. A public meeting is scheduled for late January, following an earlier open-house session held in December 2025.

The city has framed the process as a feasibility-driven effort aimed at identifying realistic future uses for the property while gathering community input. City officials have previously invited residents to review preliminary concepts and discuss redevelopment ideas with municipal representatives and project consultants.

What is known about the Columbus School site and the study underway

The former Columbus School property is located at 112 Columbus Avenue and is part of the Downtown Brownfield Opportunity Area. The project underway is a reuse and redevelopment feasibility analysis intended to clarify what can practically be done with the site.

As described in public materials for the study, the work includes an assessment of existing site conditions, a review of redevelopment options, and financial feasibility modeling. The overall objective is to determine the most appropriate and feasible future use or mix of uses for the property and to outline potential funding sources that could help close financing gaps for any preferred scenario.

• Site location: 112 Columbus Avenue, Rome, New York
• Site size: approximately 2.8 acres
• Study scope: conditions review, redevelopment options, and financial feasibility analysis
• Program context: Brownfield Opportunity Areas predevelopment planning

Funding and timeline context

The feasibility analysis is being supported through New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program, with a project award of $112,500. Public records list the work as a multi-year effort with an anticipated completion date in 2028.

City procurement documents indicate that the city sought consulting services to deliver the feasibility analysis and to facilitate public engagement sessions as part of the process—an approach that blends technical evaluation with structured community feedback.

How public input is expected to be used

Public meeting formats to date have been structured as open-house sessions, allowing residents to arrive during a multi-hour window to review information and speak directly with the project team. Community feedback collected during these meetings is expected to inform the range of redevelopment scenarios advanced through the feasibility analysis and any next-step planning, including potential future solicitations for redevelopment services.

The meeting is designed to gather public input on future use(s) of the former Columbus School site and to discuss potential redevelopment ideas for the vacant property.

City officials have not presented a final redevelopment decision as part of the public meeting notices, emphasizing instead that the process remains in the evaluation phase and centered on determining feasible options before moving toward implementation.