Case Study

Syracuse AB

Community Name & Location:
Syracuse, New York, Onondaga County

Challenge:
Transform the City into one of the region’s top destinations after years of economic decline. Changing technologies led to businesses leaving the area; abandonment followed, and with abandonment came blight.

Vision:
Create a thriving community linking the shores of Onondaga Lake with downtown Syracuse.
  The City created the Lakefront Development Corporation, a not-for-profit organization made up of local business leaders and community stakeholders to facilitate the $2 billion reclamation and redevelopment of 800 blighted acres between the lakefront and downtown. The Bridgewater Building was the catalyst project for the redevelopment of Franklin Square. Completed projects include: revitalization of historic Franklin Square - once the manufacturing center of Syracuse - into an attractive mix of apartments, office space, and neighborhood shops and restaurants; rehabilitation of historic Armory Square into shops, offices, residential and entertainment venues (including Museum of Science and Technology with IMAX theater and planetarium); improvements to Carousel Center retail complex; development of Stadium Market Center; public infrastructure improvements; storage tank removal at a key waterfront site; and development of Onondaga Creekwalk.
 
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  The historic Barge Canal Freight House in the Syracuse Inner Harbor is being renovated and restored as an interpretative welcome center and other public uses. This supports the harbor's redevelopment as a major regional boating and tourism center.
Completion of regional “edutainment” and retail center “DestiNY USA"; continued cleanup of Onondaga Lake; build out of harbor and extended harbor areas; and related projects.
 

By developing partnerships with the development and real estate companies, and facilitating private sector interaction with government agencies and the community, a local development corporation can reinvigorate a neighborhood. Abandonment and blight can be the harbingers of opportunity.

How/why is this a success?
With an emphasis on lifestyle and a respect for its past, Franklin Square has become a model of successful urban revitalization. This model is now being applied to other development districts, including Armory Square, a thriving historic district now home to a dynamic mix of retail shops, office space, and entertainment venues, in a mix of both revitalized and new buildings.
 

Partners
City of Syracuse; Lakefront Development Corporation; NYS DOS; NYS OPRHP; NYS Canal Corporation

Project Dates
N/A
 

Community Contact Information
Eric A. Weber
Executive Director, Lakefront Development Corporation
238 West Division Street
Syracuse, NY 13204
(315) 448-2244
EWeber@TheSyracuseLakefront.com

DOS Contact Information
Kevin Millington
NYS Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources
41 State Street
Albany, NY 12231-0001
(518) 473-2479
kmilling@dos.ny.gov

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