Henrietta NY looks to turn Dome Arena into community center

Despite its size and growth in recent years, the town of Henrietta doesn’t have a community center.

Now it is looking to create one in the Dome Arena and turn adjacent Minett Hall into a youth sports facility.

Town Supervisor Stephen Schultz said he is applying for two New York state grants to cover the cost of buying the Dome property near Calkins and East Henrietta roads, including outdoor acreage: a $6 million BRICKS (Building Recreational Infrastructure for Communities, Kids and Seniors) grant and a $1 million to $2 million Pro-Housing Supply Fund grant.

The Dome building includes large meeting rooms that could be used by community groups, he said. Its main space measuring 25,000 square feet could fill multiple needs, not just for community events but as a congregation site in emergencies and a point-of-distribution center as it was for the COVID vaccine early in the pandemic.

“One of the other things we’ve talked about is renting the space for events,” he said. 

Schultz does not expect that the venue would need much work, if any. Eight years ago, co-owners Dr. Seth Zeidman, a local neurosurgeon, and Frank Imburgia, president of FSI General Contractors, did an $8 million renovation that spanned nine months. In 2023, they invested another $500,000 to convert the Dome from an all-purpose venue to a pickleball club, which was short-lived.

Minett Hall would become the location for the town’s youth gymnastics program.

Currently, it’s based at the Henrietta Recreation Center on Calkins Road. But, “It’s filled to the gills,” Schultz said. “We’re actually turning people away.”

At 23,000 square feet, the hall could hold the gymnastics program, as well as youth floor hockey and pickleball, he said. An addition might be required to accommodate the height of the gymnastics apparatus, but that work would be done by town crews, he said.

“Our goal is to kick in nothing out of pocket,” he said.

As for the outdoor space, the town would look to partner with a developer on an affordable housing project, not unlike Marketplace Senior Apartments, which was built on an outparcel at Marketplace Mall by Rochester’s Cornerstone Group.

All of the complex’s 150 units were rented the first day they became available, Schultz said. And presently, every affordable senior housing community in Henrietta has a two- to three-year waiting list, he said. “So, there’s definitely a need.”

Zeidman and Imburgia started talking informally with the town about taking over the Dome about six months ago.

“It’s a great venue and a great resource,” Zeidman told the Democrat and Chronicle at that time. His fear was that if he and Imburgia sold it to a private developer, that person might tear it down.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments and has an interest in retail news. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on X @MarciaGreenwood.