The City of Rochester made its first steps to actualize the revitalization of a west side neighborhood Tuesday evening.

They have been working on the Bull’s Head Urban Renewal Plan for several years now.

“Bull’s Head is a great area of the city. It’s in the southwest part of Rochester," said Dana Millier, Director of Development Services. "It’s historically been a center of commerce for many years, since the 1800s, and unfortunately it has fallen on hard times now, so we’re looking at ways to revitalize the area.”

After a unanimous vote by the city council Tuesday night to acquire property in the area, and the approval of a $1,375,000 bond to acquire those properties, the project can now be underway.

“It’s a good idea that the city does that because there’ll be a couple less houses vacant and people can move in,” said neighbor Michael Healy.

The neighborhood sits in council vice president Adam McFadden’s precinct, and he has some concern

“Right now if you go to it, it needs a lot of help," McFadden said. "The only issue is those three businesses I mentioned are staple businesses in my district, and we don’t want to lose those.”

However, he says he voted for the project once he got certain assurances.

“I got assurances from the mayor and her staff that taking properties would be the last option, not the first," McFadden said. "That they will work with the businesses that are there to preserve them there, to see if those buildings can stay. And that we can do the cleanup we need to do with them intact.”

Now that the plan has been approved, the city will begin environmental cleanup and acquiring the remaining properties over the next several months, before development can begin.

“We’re really looking forward to just revitalizing the area, and making sure it’s an asset to the community," Miller said. "It’s a very important area where five major streets come together, so historically it’s been a center for commerce and we’d like it to remain that way.”