The Syracuse Developments Thread (sans Destiny USA)

[Visiteur]

Appropriate action, or scamming federal government? You decide.

Brewerton's blight preserved by redlining rich
Friday, March 30, 2007By John Doherty Staff writer
There goes the neighborhood.

Some parts of Brewerton were just getting too opulent to be part of the hamlet.

And that was making Cicero town officials cringe.

For years the Oneida Lake community, at the northern tip of Onondaga County, qualified for improvement grants from the federal Community Development program based on, well, being poor.

The town was able to designate the hamlet as a blighted area to qualify for government money. Brewerton's downtown is peppered with neglected buildings, its waterfront needs improvement and about 8 percent of the residents live in poverty.

But in recent years, several upscale housing developments came along on the hamlet's outskirts, improving Brewerton's economic profile.

"Basically, the new people make too much money for a blighted area," said Cicero Supervisor Chester Dudzinski.

To fix the problem, town councilors came up with a simple plan. They redrew Brewerton's boundaries to exclude the places where the rich folks live.

"The Route 11 area is where we want to focus our efforts," Dudzinski said.

Brewerton's new lines encompass a roughly one-square-mile area bounded by Orangeport Road, the Oneida River, the town of Clay line and Interstate 81.

And Brewerton is blighted once more.

[Kevin]

^I'd say it's pretty clever. Only in Syracuse does a story like that make the front page. In the South, they are always changing borders of cities etc. Upstate NY is behind the curve.

Senator Defrancisco taking advantage of the Empire Zone benefits without creating any new jobs is the real "scamming the government".

So I'd say....Cicero Supervisor Chester Dudzinski ~ smart
Senator Defrancisco ~ scamming the government

On to other news.....still waiting for Spitzer's passion to bring growth back to Metro Syracuse

Jobless rate falls as labor force shrinks
Friday, March 30, 2007By Rick Moriarty Staff writer
The Syracuse area's employment picture got a mixed report card Thursday.

The good news from the state Department of Labor: There were about 1,200 more jobs in Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties in February than there were in the same month last year. It represented an increase of 0.4 percent. Most of the increase 1,000 jobs was created by the private sector.

The area's unemployment rate dropped from 5.5 percent a year earlier to 5.1 percent in February, matching the rate in January.

The bad news: The gains were not broadly based. They were concentrated in three sectors: professional and business services; educational and health services; and the leisure and hospitality segment.

The big trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 1,300 jobs between February 2006 and February this year a loss of 2 percent.

Losses in the retail industry accounted for most of the decline. Retail employers eliminated 1,100 jobs, dropping retail employment to its lowest level on record despite pockets of retail growth, such as the Route 31 corridor in Clay.

Other losses occurred in the manufacturing, information and financial industries and in the Labor Department's miscellaneous category of "other services." Manufacturing's loss of 300 jobs helped it set a record low for employment (except for July 2004, when New Process Gear had temporary layoffs).

The big losses in the retail sector took the Labor Department by surprise. They first showed up last month, when the department revised its job estimates for 2006. The new estimates, based on more complete data collected from employers, showed retail losses that had not been picked up in the department's monthly surveys in 2006.

Roger Evans, a labor analyst for the state, said the retail losses are hard to figure. Retail employment had been growing in the Syracuse area until last year, he said.

He cited as possible reasons the region's continuing population decline, consolidations in the retail industry and stores using technology to operate with fewer employees.....

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...840.xml&coll=1

[Visiteur]

http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/0...illion_ma.html

Sensis Corp. Wins $64 million Marine Corps Contract
Posted by Charley Hannagan April 02, 2007 5:04PM

Sensis Corp. is part of a Northrop Grumman Corp. team that received a $256.6 million contract Friday to build the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Sensis' cut of the contract is $64 million.

To handle the work the company that employs 550 workers in DeWitt will need to add 50 engineers. It already has 30 positions open.

The G/ATOR system takes what were four radars, each performing a different job, and combines them into one that is small enough and light enough to be mounted on a Humvee.
The single radar will provide aircraft detection, tracking and engagement; cruise missile detection and engagement; ground weapon location; and military air traffic control.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Look at Syracuse go and grow. Yippee.

[Visiteur]

Syracuse gets its first "Sculpture Park"

Appearing in Syracuse's Post Standard Business Section 04/07/07

Got a durable, weatherproof sculpture taking up space in your closet? A group trying to turn an old industrial area on West Fayette Street into an art center might have a place for it.

40 Below's arts task force wants to place sculptures on a large strip of green space along the railroad tracks on north side of West Fayette Street, between Armory Square and South Geddes Street.

The group is putting out a call for sculptures that are in storage or that artists want to make specifically for the site. 40 Below is calling the site Lipe Art Park after entrepreneur and inventor Charles E. Lipe, who made gears for the Franklin automobile in a building that still stands at the corner of West Fayette and South Geddes streets and is used for artist studios.

The sculptures must be durable and weatherproof. They'll be put on display from June to September.

Owners of the sculptures won't get paid anything, but they won't have to pay anything, either.

"The benefit to the artists is, they're going to get a lot of people looking at their artwork," said Ty Marshal, a local musician who is chairman of the Lipe Art Park project for 40 Below.

Signs in the park will identify the artist who created each piece, he said.

40 Below is a group of artists and professionals both under and over 40 years of age that was formed to make the central Upstate region a "more vibrant place to live, work, learn and play."

One of its goals is to start public arts projects that create a sense of identity in Syracuse. The arts task force is a group of artists, community leaders and interested volunteers.

The West Fayette Street area has been targeted because it is full of vacant or underused warehouses and former factory buildings that could be adapted for use as artist studios.

Marshal said the effort also will have economic benefits because it will encourage companies to find commercial uses for the buildings, too.

"I'm a big believer in art as a tool for economic engines," he said. "Art attracts developers and beautifies the area."

40 Below has six sculptures lined up for the park. It's hoping to get four more.

Marshal said most will be too heavy to steal. But the sculptures may be secured, just in case.

[Visiteur]

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...260.xml&coll=1

20 miles from Auburn, firm wants to be in Empire Zone
Nutrition Bar Confectioners LLC will operate out of the town of Ira. Monday, April 09, 2007
By Scott Rapp Staff writer

A manufacturing company planning to operate in the Cayuga County town of Ira is hoping to gain more than $637,000 in tax credits by snaring Empire Zone status from the city of Auburn, about 20 miles away.

Nutrition Bar Confectioners LLC, which has yet to start production, has filed applications with the city and state Empire Zone boards, which would enable it to qualify for the tax breaks.

Both the city and state boards have approved the company's preliminary request for status in the Empire Zone, and the Auburn board is to vote on a final application today. Board Chairman Tom Ganey said he's in favor of the move.

"It's something that will enhance economic development in the region. . . . It will help the town of Ira, it will help Cayuga County and it will put some people back to work," Ganey said this week.

The state's Empire Zone program was set up in 2000 to help businesses relocate or expand into zones where poverty was greatest. Under the program, businesses that pledge to create jobs are reimbursed for property taxes and receive other incentives.

Auburn's zone was created in 2000.

Even though Nutrition Bar Confectioners will be on Route 34 in Ira, not in Auburn, it can gain Empire Zone status from the city and qualify for the tax breaks under recent state legislation. That legislation makes exceptions for "regionally significant manufacturing projects" outside a designated Empire Zone, Randy Coburn, state program director, said Friday.

Generally, a manufacturer only has to indicate that it will create 50 jobs over five years to gain Empire Zone status and tax breaks as a regionally significant manufacturing project, Coburn said. In its application, the Ira company said it would start hiring on Sept. 1 and employ 50 people within five years, and pump $1 million into startup production costs.

Coburn said the state and city would monitor the company's employee rolls to make sure it hires the minimum 50 employees within five years. (cont.)

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...260.xml&coll=1
New Zoning Sought for Airpark
MDA seeks mix of uses for site in Cicero Monday, April 09, 2007
By John Doherty Staff writer
The developers of the Hancock Airpark want the 425-acre industrial site rezoned to one classification that fits all potential businesses.

About 60 acres in the Cicero industrial park remain available for development. However, the park's zoning is a hodgepodge of commercial and industrial designations.

"Right now it's a mix. Some (lots) are zoned commercial and others are zoned industrial. We want to get the park under one (zone) so the owners don't have to go to the town to get a zone change if they need one," said Lori Dietz, assistant to the president of the Metropolitan Development Association, the park's developer.

The MDA's Hancock Field Development Corp. is asking town officials to create a zoning class for the park called general commercial plus. That classification would allow a mix of commercial and light industrial uses, said Dietz, who oversees the air park project.

"Those are the kind of businesses we want in the park," Dietz said.

Cicero Supervisor Chester Dudzinski favors the new zoning for the air park.

"I think it's a good idea and it makes sense," Dudzinski said. "Putting the entire park under one zoning would make it a building-ready site. The zoning should fit with what's going on in the air park."

If the town board creates the new zoning, it could be used elsewhere in the town, said Town Attorney Heather Cole.

"Right now we're focusing on the air park but, in the long run, if there was another area of the town where it fit it could be applied there," Cole said.

Ownership of the former Hancock Field, a former federal air base, was transferred to Onondaga County in September 1987. County officials then assigned the development of the field to the MDA.

The park has several occupants, including a Kinney Drugs distribution center; Gaylord Bros., a manufacturer of library furniture and supplies; and Jadak Technologies Inc., a provider of engineering services to customers, including medical equipment makers, which is building a 15,000-square-foot building.

ICM Controls, a Cicero-based manufacturer of electronic components, is building a 75,000-square-foot plant in the park. "It would make more sense to have the park zoned the same," said company President Ron Kadah.

Kadah, who did not need a zone change for his project, said the air park is a good location.

"We're not far from where we are now, so the move won't impact our employees. It's close to (interstates) 481, 81 and 90. The downside is you're a lot closer to the airport, so anybody moving in there would definitely have to have noise insulation."

[Visiteur]

Really bad news this week-

Excellus is looking for a site outside of downtown, according to 9wsyr.com, a local news channel. They're sick of waiting for the city to do something about the Warren Street parking Garage, and they're looking at sites in the suburbs.

The Syracuse School District is cutting 164 jobs. This is because the mayor does not want to increase taxes this year. I am actually okay with that. The taxes here are some of the highest in the nation,. and I feel it's a tentative step in the right direction. A real shame for those school kids though.

And, my goods news...a shopping mall is under construction ni the nearby village of Central Square. WTF!

[Visiteur]

Some random stuff...

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...000.xml&coll=1

Five or six new restaurants planned in surburban areas...

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...840.xml&coll=1

A plastics company is building a new facility, with 30 new workers at opening, and 100 planned within two years. This company has expanded three times in the past decade.

[Ex-Ithacan]

It's so nice to see the good news outweighing the bad in Syracuse (and environs).

[Visiteur]

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...610.xml&coll=1

Apparently, the mall expansion will still include an indoor waterway.

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...610.xml&coll=1

Plans for a new interstate exit in the growing suburbs of Clay and Cicero continue

And in other news, a car dealership named Crest Cadillac is expanding, creating an unspecified number of jobs.

[Visiteur]

http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/0...for_new_n.html

For better or for worse folks...we've got another nuclear power plant moving into the area.

[Visiteur]

GE Inspection Technologies Breaks Ground on $6 million project
Posted by Charley Hannagan April 23, 2007 11:29AM
Categories: Breaking News, Business News
GE Inspection Technologies broke ground this morning on a new $6 million plant in Skaneateles Falls.
GE Inspection Technologies moved to the area in 2005 when it bought Welch Allyn's Everest VIT subsidiary.
The new 65,700 plant on Visions Drive allows for future expansion to 85,700 feet. The company employs 165 and expects to add 50 jobs in the next five years.
http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/0...ogies_bre.html

[Visiteur]

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...470.xml&coll=1

Cicero, Clay look to future
They aim to avoid having uncontrolled development in county's northernmost part. Thursday, April 26, 2007By John Doherty Staff writer
Cicero and Clay officials are taking steps to control development in much of the northernmost part of Onondaga County.

Earlier this year in Cicero, town councilors issued a moratorium blocking commercial development in Brewerton while a panel of experts and volunteers decide the future of the hamlet at the western end of Oneida Lake.

Commercial development needed to be stopped, community leaders said, to ensure that only businesses fitting in with the hamlet's future move into Brewerton.

In Clay, the town board is reviewing a plan that prohibits most commercial development and requires new homes to be built on large lots in a wide area between the Verplank Road corridor north to the Oswego County line.

The controls are needed, Clay officials say, to ensure future development does not further stress already overburdened roadways and other public facilities.

"We're definitely trying to preserve the area," said Clay Supervisor James Rowley. "For the whole north area, (under the proposal) about 90 percent of it is designated for housing lots of 40,000 square feet or larger."

The plan, which could be adopted by the town board in June, also establishes several areas where housing could be more dense and some commercial development would be allowed.
These areas include housing projects already under development and the Three Rivers Point area.

"We hope to have a cluster of mixed uses at Three Rivers maybe residential housing, entertainment, shops and a marina," Rowley said.

The development of large-scale commercial developments, such as shopping plazas and restaurants, would be halted at Route 31, Rowley said.

We're not encouraging any type of commercial development north of there at all. We want to keep the commercial on Route 31 and below," Rowley said.

Although there would be no new commercial development

along Verplank Road, which runs parallel to Route 31, under the plan the roadway could see increased traffic.

"We're looking seriously at Verplank Road to relieve traffic pressure on Route 31," Rowley said. "If we rebuild Verplank Road and build connectors down into the commercial sector it will substantially affect the traffic on Route 31."

Since 2000, traffic along Route 31 between Moyers Corners and Route 481, the heart of Clay's new commercial district, has increased 96 percent to an average of 34,800 cars a day, according to state traffic counts.

State transportation officials have warned that the roadway is near capacity.

In Cicero, a panel helping to design a development plan for Brewerton began its work Tuesday.

"We want to make sure that we have our theme and design for the whole area in place before any further commercial development occurs," said Cicero Supervisor Chester Dudzinski.

The town has received some financial help from the state and is awaiting word on a federal development grant that could be as high as $1 million.

Before Interstate 81 was built in the 1960s, Brewerton was a thriving community. Today it has few stores and several empty and long-neglected buildings. Local leaders want to transform the hamlet into a waterfront community with restaurants and specialty shops.

"I know there are a lot of commercial developers that are interested in Brewerton and are watching what is going on," Dudzinski said. "Brewerton has so much potential, we want to make sure we do this right."

[Visiteur]

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/kir...370.xml&coll=1

Well try a summary for this three-page article.

Rift builds over keeping SU architect school downtown

Some people love the Warehouse, others hate it because it's too far from the campus. While some, mostly students, are calling for a return to Slocum Hall, they would like to see the Warehouse remain a vibrant hub for university activities.

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...370.xml&coll=1

Rochester utility seeks to build 500 million dollar coal pant

[Visiteur]

Whoops, thought I was done today. Late-breaking news:

Hotel Syracuse developers close on $10 million loan
Posted by Maureen Nolan May 02, 2007 11:32AM
Categories: Breaking News, Business News, City News, Government
With the construction loan closing, work can begin within 60 days to transform the hotel's vacant tower into residential units.

Redevelopers of the Hotel Syracuse closed on the loan this morning. Mark Belanger, the owner's representative and financial consultant on the project, presented the news to the Downtown Committee at its annual meeting at the Landmark Theater. The audience applauded the announcement. Redevelopment of the historic hotel is considered to be an important element of a healthy downtown.

Work will begin within 60 days, and three or four model units and the lobby should take three months to complete, Belanger said. The rest of the tower, known as Symphony Place, will be completed six months after that, he said. Work in the tower will be the beginning of a complete makeover to create condominiums, apartments, hotel rooms and commercial space.

"Now we can make application for building permits and proceed," Belanger said after the meeting.

[Visiteur]

Young developers plan Salina St. lofts
Thursday, May 03, 2007By Maureen Nolan Staff writer
Developer Ryan Goodfellow's partner wasn't with him Wednesday when he briefed the Downtown Committee on their plans to convert a mostly empty building at 325 S. Salina St. into luxury apartments.

"He's actually in class right now," said Goodfellow, 24.

The partner, Pete Muserlian Jr., is a senior at Le Moyne College, and they are the new kids on a block that's central to downtown Syracuse. The Downtown Committee invited Goodfellow to unveil the project at its annual meeting. Other speakers gave updates on heavyweight downtown projects. Goodfellow was the only one introduced as a "young entrepreneur."

The plan for 325 S. Salina is to develop the first floor for commercial use and create one 3,000-square-foot loft apartment on each of the top four floors, Goodfellow said.

Each will have three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a living room of roughly 1,200 square feet. The architect for the project is Arthur McDonald, a professor at Syracuse University's school of architecture, he said.

Goodfellow said he and Muserlian are the active partners in 325 South Salina St. LLC, which recently bought the building. The price was roughly $260,000, the Onondaga County Clerk's Office said.

His plan is to get a construction loan to pay for the work. He said he had not determined the cost of the project.

The long, narrow building is sandwiched between Lee's Chinese restaurant and the Rainbow clothing shop. It was built as the Syracuse Trust Bank Co. in the late 1800s, and two gargoyles lurk over the entrance, one representing thrift and the other waste.

Risk and opportunity would be more fitting emblems for Goodfellow. He believes the 300 block of South Salina Street is poised to take off.

As for the risk: "I'm young enough to recover if need be," Goodfellow said.

Across the street in the 300 block, the Landmark Theatre is raising money for a major renovation. Adapt CNY is trying to renovate the Wilson building and the Metropolitan Development Foundation has gained control of three other buildings and is searching for a major developer.

David Mankiewicz, Downtown Committee deputy director, said the new project is a great thing for the 300 block.

Except for the Loew Building and Jefferson Center, the vacancy rate for the rest of the buildings is close to 70 percent because the upper floors are mostly unoccupied, he said. The key to the block is to change that.

"If they are successful, they are going to set a model for other owners," he said.

Goodfellow graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 2001 and Babson College in Boston in 2005, where he earned a business degree. He did several internships in the Boston area and came home to make his career.

His day job is with the Pemco Group, which develops and manages commercial real estate.

Young and entrepreneurial though they may be, Goodfellow and Muserlian are not without connections. Muserlian's father owns Pemco, Goodfellow said.

His own dad, Tom Goodfellow, owns GCM Limited, or Goodfellow Construction Management. Goodfellow said he's shoveled bricks and labored for his dad for years, so he learned how buildings are put together.

He said his dad is a constant support, is helping design the floor plans and will do the renovations.

"Any question I have I can go right to him. I'm only 24, I'm not expected to know everything," he said.


In other news...

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...620.xml&coll=1
Marquadt Switches Inc. adding 30 positions

[Visiteur]

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...620.xml&coll=1

Four companies with expansion plans that would create a total of 240 jobs won designation Tuesday from the Onondaga County Legislature as "regionally significant projects." It's a step they need to win Empire Zone approval and tax breaks.

The four include New York Bakery of Syracuse Inc., which plans a plant in Clay; GE Inspection Technologies LP, which is expanding in Skaneateles; Tessy Medical Products LLC, which plans a shop next to its parent company in Elbridge; and Syroco Inc., which wants to expand operations at its Van Buren factory.

http://www.cnybusinessjournal.com/fu...=frontpage.cfm
Plainville Farms prepares for expansion project

In addition to the turkey farm, Bitz owns an animal-feed mill, Central New York Feeds of Jordan, that employs nine and a restaurant, Plainville Farms Restaurant of Cicero, which employs 100. The turkey farm employs 250, a total Bitz says could increase 20 percent following the expansion project.

Okay, maybe not significant news, but the guy who started Plainville is an alum of my fraternity chapter.

[Visiteur]

$17.5M biodiesel project set for CNY
Morrisville State plans to turn local crops into clean-burning fuel in Cortlandville.

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...980.xml&coll=1

No word on jobs though.

Syracuse's lakefront area got something this week that hasn't been seen there in at least 12 years- a really big construction crane.
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...800.xml&coll=1



http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...800.xml&coll=1
Aldi will expand building in Tully
Friday, May 11, 2007By Rick Moriarty Staff writer
Aldi Inc.'s grocery distribution facility in Tully is growing.

The discount grocery store chain said Thursday it plans to build a 160,000-square-foot addition to its 389,000-square-foot center to accommodate the company's growth. The enlarged facility will serve all 66 Aldi stores in New York.

Aaron Sumida, Aldi vice president, said the addition will not result in any immediate job growth because jobs have already been created at the center as the company's business has grown in the state. Aldi employs about 100 people at the distribution facility, which opened in 1998.

The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency voted 4-0 Thursday to grant an exemption on sales taxes on distribution and office equipment for the addition.

In other business, the agency voted 4-0 to:

Grant a sales tax exemption to Raymour Furniture Co. and affiliated companies for two projects - conversion of a 20,280-square-foot building at 4545 Morgan Place, in Clay, to a transportation service center, and renovation of a 41,200-square- foot building at 4563 Morgan Place for use as a cardboard and Styrofoam recycling center.

Approve tax exemptions for the construction of a 95,000-square-foot plastic molding engineering and production facility by Tessy Medical Products LLC in Elbridge, the latest in a string of expansions by Tessy.

Give Creative Laminates Inc., in DeWitt, a $2,250 grant to train two employees in new software that controls the manufacture of architectural millwork.

Authorize up to $16 million in tax-exempt bonds for the Syracuse Home Association's construction of an 80-bed skilled nursing facility in Baldwinsville, the conversion of an 80-bed nursing unit into 46 assisted- living units and refinancing of $3.4 million of agency bonds.

[Visiteur]

New construction: City's first market-rate apartments since '70s
Thursday, May 17, 2007By Rick Moriarty Staff writer
A development team that has completed three office and residential projects in and around historic Franklin Square in the past two years is taking on a fourth the city's first new-construction, market-rate apartments since the early 1970s.

Douglas Sutherland, Ted Kinder and Robert Medina are planning to build a 36-unit, five-story apartment building at 438 N. Franklin St., on the northeast corner of North Franklin Street and Genant Drive, in Franklin Square.

They are hoping to obtain municipal approvals and have financing in place by late summer, allowing construction to start in the fall. Completion of the $11.7 million project is targeted for the fall of 2008.

Rents for the one- and two-bedroom apartments will be $900 to $1,800 a month, with heat, hot water and air conditioning included, Sutherland said. The apartments will range in size from 825 square feet to 1,600 square feet, he said.

Keeping with the area's industrial theme, the apartments will have 11- to 12-foot ceilings and huge windows 8 feet high and 8 feet wide.

"Two windows of ours have more glass than the typical suburban home," said Sutherland.

Even though the building will be new, MacKnight Architects is designing it to look much like the historic buildings that surround it.

A 48-foot metal canopy will hang over part of the front of the building, giving the structure an old-time look and identifying the entrance to its ground-floor commercial space.

It will feature the same orange-red brick exterior as that on most buildings in the square, with the same limestone rock base found on the former O.M. Edwards building (now The Lofts at Franklin Square) and other nearby buildings in the former industrial center south of Onondaga Lake.

A darker-color metal exterior will be used on parts of the building to provide a contrast with the brighter brick color and to give the structure the appearance of having evolved over decades, just as many factories in the area grew with additions built during different architectural periods, Sutherland said.

To add to the "evolved" look, part of the Genant Drive side of the building will be set back slightly to create shadows and the appearance that it was an addition to the building, he said.

"There's some really good quality industrial architecture here," said Sutherland. "We want to take our cues from that."

The fifth floor on the southern side of the building also will be set back, providing room for roof-top decks with sweeping views of downtown.

The site contains a vacant two-story commercial building that will be demolished.

Sutherland said he and his partners considered redeveloping the building. But its poor condition and lack of any interesting architectural features made it a poor candidate for a rehab, he said.

"It's on nobody's historical building list," he said.

Sutherland and his partners specialize in converting old, underused industrial buildings into apartments, commercial space or both, usually using historic tax credits to help finance their projects.

In recent years they have turned the O.M. Edwards building into 92 loft apartments and 35,000 square feet of commercial space, the former Glomac Plastics building in Franklin Square into offices and a warehouse at 230 Willow St., just outside the square, into 48 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.

The three partners purchased 438 N. Franklin St. for $400,000 in May last year after hearing that a California investor with no development background was interested in it.

Sutherland said they bought it for defensive purposes, fearing the California investor was a speculator who would let the property decay, harming their $26 million worth of investments in the area. Those investments include $6 million in the Glomac Plastics building, now named The Foundry, across Genant Drive from the project.

Sutherland said he will seek a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the city. Such agreements provide temporary tax abatements on improvements to a property.

He said the development team also will be looking for some form of "gap financing" - a grant or tax credits that close the gap between a project's costs and available private financing.

David Michel, Syracuse's economic development director, said the city is exploring ways to help and could bring the project to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency soon.

"I like the project," said Michel. "This is really the last building in the southern end of Franklin Square that needs to be dealt with."

Many old buildings downtown have been converted into apartments in recent years, and Center Armory condominiums were built in the early 1990s in Armory Square. But Sutherland and Michel said they could not recall a new-construction, market-rate rental project in the city since Presidential Plaza was built in the early 1970s.

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/bus...l=1&thispage=2

[Visiteur]

Will someone please break up the monotony of my posts on this thread?

Vacant space becomes gallery for local artists
Former Syracuse bank to house group's first temporary artwork display. Thursday, May 17, 2007By Maureen Nolan Staff writer
It was a vacant building with a past and piles of debris, dust and junk to clean out. It didn't even have electricity.

It was exactly what Andrea Audi and the all-volunteer Floating Galleries of Syracuse were looking for.

They really, really wanted to launch their art project in the former Merchants Bank building at South Warren and Fayette streets. It's a one-time property of investor Eli Hadad, which was part of the appeal.

Floating Galleries is a group of about 45 volunteers, funded by donations, that wants to showcase the work of local artists and kindle the redevelopment of vacant and underused buildings.

In three weeks' time, it cleaned out roughly 8,000 square feet of the ground floor and stripped away some of the tint from the floor-to-ceiling windows that wrap around three sides of the space. Then they hung lots of art.

The opening of the temporary gallery will be from 7 to 10 p.m. today.

"There have been some sore muscles, and there have been some late nights," Audi said a couple of days before the opening of the show, which features the work of 15 or so local artists.

Audi, who chairs the group, intends the Merchants Bank show to be the first in a string of galleries in vacant space. It formed over the winter as a spinoff from the Public Arts Task Force of the civic organization 40 Below.

When Floating Galleries went to the man overseeing the building, Jacob Ohayon, he supported the idea, Audi said.

Ohayon said he wanted to help but wondered about the group's choice of buildings. He offered them another one. He explained the obstacles at 220 S. Warren St. for instance, lack of electricity.

They told him they'd call National Grid.

"So I tell them good luck," he said and required them to get insurance.

Ohayon said the building is no longer owned by Eli Hadad but by 220 S. Warren LLC, which he said does not include Hadad. He described himself as a representative of the building owner.

The owner has a purchase contract with investors from New York City who want to renovate the building and may convert an adjacent red brick building at 214 S. Warren to residential use, Ohayon said. He declined to name the prospective owner until the deal goes through.

In the meantime, Solvay photographer Joel Capolongo, who helped clean up the building, says 220 S. Warren fits his work. He travels around the state shooting abandoned buildings.

"This is the very first time my work has been shown publicly, so this is a great opportunity," he said.

http://www.syracuse.com/articles/new...370.xml&coll=1

Maureen Nolan can be reached at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com