June 6th, 2025
Renovated landmark will also offer student housing for Eastman School of Music
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today joined Rochester Mayor Malik Evans and other local dignitaries to cut a ribbon on the new home of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at the Sibley Triangle Building on East Main Street. The divinity school will occupy the building’s ground floor. The upper floors offer student housing that will cater to students at the nearby Eastman School of Music, with amenities such as practice rooms.
Built in 1897, the five-story flat-iron shaped building was designed by renowned architect J. Foster Warner and commissioned by Hiram W. Sibley. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School traces its origins to 1850, and operated from its historic campus on South Goodman Street near Highland Park for more than 90 years.
“I’m honored to help welcome the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School to it’s new home in the heart of downtown Rochester,” said County Executive Bello. “This move signifies an exciting new chapter, and we recognize the enduring impact the school has had and will continue to have on our local community and in shaping thoughtful leaders around the world. Their arrival will be a boon to the Liberty Pole neighborhood, which has undergone a radical reimagining in the last several years.”
“I am thrilled to welcome the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School to the historic Sibley Triangle Building in Downtown Rochester, where this nationally recognized and much- revered institution of higher education and spiritual growth will get the visibility it deserves,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “I want to thank developer Angelo Ingrassia for his work to reclaim the grandeur of this magnificent landmark at one our city’s most recognizable intersections. I’m also grateful to Governor Kathy Hochul and County Executive Adam Bello for supporting this project and helping us preserve the rich heritage of Rochester’s Downtown streetscape.”
“A seminary of and for the community, Colgate Rochester Crozer is delighted to be a part of the city’s downtown revitalization initiative,” said Angel D. Sims, PhD, CRCDS President. “Located at the intersection of East Avenue and Main, our relocation symbolizes the school’s ongoing commitment to form students who are learned, pastoral, and prophetic. For such a time as now, it is our prayer that peace, service, and justice will serve as guides to inform collective and collaborative engagement at the intersections of commerce, education, and public service.”
"Thanks to Governor Hochul's Restore New York initiative, we are partnering with communities statewide on projects that transform blighted spaces and create increased access to housing and opportunity,” said Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight Today, we’re celebrating the new home of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in the city's historic Triangle Building—a shining example of how this program is promoting sustainable economic growth both here in Rochester and throughout New York.”
"This project is an example of the State, County, and City Government working together with the development community to bring a much needed project to fruition,” said developer Angelo Ingrassia. “When we all work together, good things happen."
Developer Angelo Ingrassia oversaw the $9.2 million renovation of the building. The project received a PILOT agreement and $1.6 million in tax incentives through COMIDA and $3 million in financial assistance from Empire State Development for the project, through its Restore New York program.
