Rochester Sun

Approved Greece Ridge Mall Expansion Will Add Over 100 Jobs

MONROE COUNTY — The largest shopping center in metro Rochester is going to become even bigger. The Mall at Greece Ridge was approved a whopping $3.6 million for redevelopment this past week by the Monroe County Economic Development Agency.

Located in the suburb of Greece, the mall currently has 1.4 million square feet of retail space. So, what does the mall have in store for us?  Mall owners are planning to build 27,000 square feet of restaurants and small shops.
Another part of the redevelopment involves the current Bon ton store. The 145,000 square foot site will also become home to restaurants and retail stores.  An outdoor patio is also being planned.

Local Greece Resident, Phillip Jensen, believes the new mall will be a great addition to West Ridge Road. “I always see new places pop up everywhere else, I am glad to be getting new restaurants in Greece.”

This overall project is projected to create around 136 jobs for the area.  “I’m going to tell a few of my unemployed friends, I may be interested myself,” said Jensen.

The total cost of this monster improvement is estimated to cost around $12 million. (nocomments)

Eggleston's repeat bid falls short in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH – Jeffrey Eggleston’s quest of repeating as the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon champion came up short on Sunday as James Kirwa, a native of Kenya, won the 2012 title with a time of 2:14:09.

Eggleston, a Rochester, NY native, won last year’s marathon after he was invited to serve as the pace setter for any American men who were looking to run the Qualifying “A” standard time for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Eggleston was instructed to run the first 18 miles at 5:18 per mile to put any runner in the field looking to run that time in position to hit the “A” standard, which is sub 2:19:00. After 18 miles, Eggleston could either drop out of the race or continue as a competitor. Eggleston went on to pick off the runners ahead of him and to win last year’s marathon in a time of 2:16:40.

“I knew going into this year’s race it was not going to be easy,” Eggleston said.

This year’s Pittsburgh Marathon increased the prize money and offered a $10,000 Bonus for any runner who beat 2:10:24, the record time set by John Kagwe of Kenya in 1995.

“There were some fast runners listed in the Elite field for the marathon which included a 2:08:00 marathoner,” Eggleston added.

Eggleston ran a personal best for the Marathon (2:13:12) last June at Grandma’s Marathon which is held in Duluth, MN.  

The men’s marathon unfolded with Nixon Kiplagat escaping from the other marathoners early in the race as he tucked behind some of the chase pack half marathoners. The marathon and half marathon share the same course for about 11 miles before the half marathoners turn off to the finish.

Kiplagat took advantage of the other marathons by building up a lead of over 2 minutes half way though the race. Eggleston and the eventual champion Kirwa came across the halfway point in a time of 1:08:30.

“I felt I made a tactical error out there,” Eggleston said. “No one knew that Nixon was out in front. If I would have known that, I think I would have pushed harder in the earlier stages of the race.”

Eggleston and Kirwa worked together most of the race trying to move themselves up in position during the race.

“We hung back from the chase pack which we thought was the lead pack,” Eggleston said. “Once we caught the pack of about 10 runners, we looked around wondering where the media truck was.”  

The media truck led the lead runners along the route.

“At mile 15 when we realized there was still another runner out there, and James and I knew we had to take our chances to try and catch him,” Eggleston said.

Eggleston and Kirwa pushed ahead by running a 4:40 mile.

“James was awesome out there, he did a lot of work and he was so strong. It didn’t matter if we were running 5:10, 5:00 or 4:40 miles – his body langue or running form never changed.”

Kirwa started to put some distance between himself and Eggleston late in the race as both runners continued to press on to catch Kiplagat. Late in the race, Kiplagat started to cramp and dropped his pace allowing Kirwa and Eggleston to continue the hunt for the lead. Even though Nixon was wounded out there he gutted it out and managed to still run strong. Kirwa was able to pass Nixon just after the 25-mile point, and Eggleston finally caught Nixon with about a half mile to go.

“When I finally got Nixon, I knew it was probably too late to catch James,” Eggleston said after the race. “I never gave up out there. I love this city, and I love this race. I want to come back and give it a go next year.”

Eggleston finished with a time of 2:14:26. Over 25,000 people participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon Events this past weekend.

Real Estate Advice: Buying a new home

Buying a Home? Make Sure You Are Represented!

So you’re thinking of purchasing a home? You save for your down payment, you visit your banker and get pre-approved, you decide what neighborhood you’re interested in, and you begin your home search!



Many buyers begin this process by searching for homes online or driving through neighborhoods. They locate the home they are interested in, and then call the agent whose information is on the property. The listing agent; The buyer expresses interest in the property to the agent, they find out it is available and they notify the agent that they would like to write an offer! The buyer is on his way to home ownership!



The buyer is on his way to owning the home of his dreams, he signs the offer and the required forms.



Did you know that agent represents the seller?

Did you know the sellers agents fiduciary responsibilities include representing the best interest of the seller, getting the best price for the seller, doing what is best, for the seller?



In order for the buyer to have their interests represented they must hire a Buyers agent. A Buyers agent is a Real Estate Agent who signs a Buyer Agency Agreement with a potential homebuyer and represents their best interests in a Real Estate Transaction.



Unless a buyer signs a Buyer Agency agreement, each Real Estate Agent represents the seller. In order for you to be sure you're being properly represented, hire a Real Estate Agent to represent you as a buyers agent.



Ozell Mikel, Jr. Is a licensed Real Estate Agent and REALTOR with the Real Estate Service Group at Keller Williams Realty. “Americas second largest and fastest growing real estate Company.” For questions, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.