Development in and Around Syracuse Discussion | Page 56 | Syracusefan.com

Development in and Around Syracuse Discussion

Syracuse "Spark" art space closing its doors, looking for a new home

Headed toward the bulldozer in favor of another over-sized student housing project, OttoMets?

It's a shame. Those guys worked hard but just couldn't get financing. Same guy's owned the building for decades (since it was surrounded by housing projects and totally a no-go zone), think he's looking to cash out as other neighbors have done. It backs up to some vacant land and a very nice hidden 19th-century single-family house (owned by Woodbine, neighborhood hotel and cheapo student apartment developer, I think); there's a fixed-income senior housing complex on that side of the block, and a vacant city fire station and the vacant professional office building that most recently was home to a VA clinic on the near side of the block. And Woodbine recently subdivided one of their parking lots. So there's definitely some assemblage potential.

Hope the building stays, it's not special but in a lot of ways better than the Disney stuff developers are building in the neighborhood.
 
It's a shame. Those guys worked hard but just couldn't get financing. Same guy's owned the building for decades (since it was surrounded by housing projects and totally a no-go zone), think he's looking to cash out as other neighbors have done. It backs up to some vacant land and a very nice hidden 19th-century single-family house (owned by Woodbine, neighborhood hotel and cheapo student apartment developer, I think); there's a fixed-income senior housing complex on that side of the block, and a vacant city fire station and the vacant professional office building that most recently was home to a VA clinic on the near side of the block. And Woodbine recently subdivided one of their parking lots. So there's definitely some assemblage potential.

Hope the building stays, it's not special but in a lot of ways better than the Disney stuff developers are building in the neighborhood.

Woodbine is the company owned by Norm Swanson (Genesee Grande, Hotel Skyler, Tailwater Lodge & Parkview Hotel), right? I believe he was also behind the conversion of the Genesee Armory into Copper Beech Commons. Looks like the owner of that house that you mentioned is Genesee Armory LLC.

I agree that the building isn't significant, per se, but it appears to be in good shape and like you said, much better looking than the cheap looking apartment buildings developers keep putting up in that area.
 
ESF hops on board as well:

SUNY ESF sold on I-81 grid option after briefing by NY officials

The article reads like the State is currently pitching the benefits of the grid option. Hopefully a good sign of things to come.

This point in the article debunks Ed Michelanko's argument that a grid would be detrimental to the environment. It was a weak argument to begin with. I'd would love to know how much cash traded hands between some of these representatives and Congel.

"To be sustainable, the city must have a population that sees the importance of community, ecology and place. If the city has no population, no amount of clean air or urban forest will matter. As a grid moves through-traffic away from the city core, suburban communities can share the burden of accommodating such traffic and ESF scientists can work with community leaders on exemplary forest and wetland innovations that can mitigate the impacts on the areas around I-481.”
 
Ed Michelanko's argument that a grid would be detrimental to the environment.
He's kind of right, but yeah, it's a dumb argument. Idling cars in stop & go traffic do burn more fuel, but a community grid lends itself to a less car-dependent lifestyle, so more dense construction, more bikes and pedestrians, and less idling cars.

Some politicians seem to think the answer to everything are malls and casinos surrounded by parking lots - neither have much of a track record in generating any kind of benefit. The're usually a sink for limited city resources due to needed infrastructure and services.
 
This point in the article debunks Ed Michelanko's argument that a grid would be detrimental to the environment. It was a weak argument to begin with. I'd would love to know how much cash traded hands between some of these representatives and Congel.

"To be sustainable, the city must have a population that sees the importance of community, ecology and place. If the city has no population, no amount of clean air or urban forest will matter. As a grid moves through-traffic away from the city core, suburban communities can share the burden of accommodating such traffic and ESF scientists can work with community leaders on exemplary forest and wetland innovations that can mitigate the impacts on the areas around I-481.”

Ed's been disingenuous; I'm not exactly sympathetic to him, but he's in a tough position. He's a scientist. He knows that the grid is the only way to go; he's acknowledged as much privately. But his supervisors and a lot of his constituents are anti-grid for one reason or another. So he's anti-grid.
 
ESF hops on board as well:

SUNY ESF sold on I-81 grid option after briefing by NY officials

The article reads like the State is currently pitching the benefits of the grid option. Hopefully a good sign of things to come.

I love these quotes:

It is a move in the right direction to begin to address social justice issues related to the bisection of the historic 15th Ward.

"The grid is the best solution to reconnect parts of the city that were physically disconnected – quite intentionally – with the misguided urban renewal programs of the 1960s."

I'm not a grid hater, I just don't think the city planners will execute it competently. The syracuse surge idea to raze and turn Pioneer Homes into a kumbaya village with professors holding hands with drug dealers just makes no sense. Erect a 20-story apartment tower to replace the current housing and turn the rest of the land over to SU and the hospitals. Let them build something that actually spurs jobs and services.

Improving the quality of public housing just makes things more comfortable, it doesn't inspire or motivate. If the government decided to build an addition to my house or put in new flooring and insulation for free, why would I consider leaving?
 
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Before any action is taken, there will be several briefings with lawmakers and a public commentary period

We need another three years to discuss the new, super tunnel alternative. We should at least give it reasoned consideration.

Haha the lawsuits will be sure to follow. The viaduct is just gonna collapse on its own before anything is done. Just hope no one dies when it happens.
 
haha, this was my suggestion to DeFrancisco way back 5 or so years ago, why not designate 81 through the city as the business route and the outer loop as the bypass. He looked at me like I had 3 heads. At the time I had no idea if it was possible given that it's an interstate and not a state route. Let me edit and say I'm still confused
Exclusive: New York selects ‘community grid’ alternative for I-81 in Syracuse

UT37TDBEIFBO3NCVKHHJZ2ZSWE.PNG


What is now Interstate 81 would be re-designated a "business loop" in Syracuse under the "community grid" alternative chosen as the state as its preferred choice for the aging highway.
 
Yeah, heard that electeds are getting the same summary presentation that ESF got, DEIS will be out tomorrow.


The difference, however, is that "The Electeds" get bribes to support the tunnel.
The University, hospitals, etc., do not.
 
Good. Now lets do it right. This too big of an opportunity to mess up and half-ass.

Given that the DEIS grid option is still referring to a 20-foot-wide median on Almond Street, there's some work left to do before this is done right.
 
haha, this was my suggestion to DeFrancisco way back 5 or so years ago, why not designate 81 through the city as the business route and the outer loop as the bypass. He looked at me like I had 3 heads. At the time I had no idea if it was possible given that it's an interstate and not a state route. Let me edit and say I'm still confused
Exclusive: New York selects ‘community grid’ alternative for I-81 in Syracuse

UT37TDBEIFBO3NCVKHHJZ2ZSWE.PNG


What is now Interstate 81 would be re-designated a "business loop" in Syracuse under the "community grid" alternative chosen as the state as its preferred choice for the aging highway.

Change it to NY Rte 681. That way, people will expect traffic lights.
 
with designating 81 through the city as the business route and not changing it to 481 should alleviate a lot of the grievances from the businesses on 7th North St.
 
They're going to renumber every exit on the new 81?

That means everything from Syracuse to Canada.
 
17. Dewitt/ Fayetteville
18. 690
19. Kirkville Rd
20. 90
21. Bridgeport.
22. Northern Blvd
23. 481 to Fulton
24. Cicero
Etc...
 

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