Not too soon after the arrival of Robert Freeman as the new director of the Eastman School of Music, various efforts to revitalize downtown Rochester began to emerge. The downtown area was anchored on its west side by city and county government buildings, and on the east side by the Eastman School and Eastman Theatre. In between the two was essentially a retail area, dominated by Midtown Plaza, the center of downtown shopping, which had opened in 1962. As with many cities of its size at the time, the downtown area was facing an uncertain future. Perhaps as an ominous sign, the four major downtown movie theaters had all closed and been demolished: the Loew's in 1964, the magnificent RKO Palace in 1965, the Regent in 1973, and the Paramount in 1974. The future of restaurants and retailing was also of significant concern. Adding to this was the possibility of seeing the school leave the downtown area, which had been seriously discussed first during the closing years of the Walter Hendl's directorship, and then once again almost immediately upon the naming of Robert Freeman as his successor. While the immediate threat of seeing Eastman leave the downtown area had subsided by the end of 1974, the decision to allow the school to remain in its present downtown location was not presented at the time as anything other than a temporary one. The eventual location of the Eastman School of Music remained an open question.

Perhaps the earliest step in organizing an effort to revitalize the downtown area was taken by the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, which established a downtown development committee. Members included Frederick G. Ray of Rochester Savings Bank; Joseph Bennett from Xerox; Robert W. Baschnagel from Rochester Gas and Electric; George S. Beinetti from Rochester Telephone; Rev. Charles Bennett from St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church; Herbert J. Brauer from Scrantom's Books and Stationery; Angelo A. Costanza from Central Trust Bank; Eugene Dorsey from Gannett newspapers; Richard T. Eaton from Sibley's Department Store; James Foley from the Top of the Plaza Restaurant; Lester E. Frankenstein from Michaels/Stern, the men's clothing manufacturer; Worth D. Holder from the Chamber of Commerce;