SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced his support for the so-called Syracuse Surge, an ambitious development initiative from Mayor Ben Walsh aimed at reviving the blighted South Salina Street corridor and other areas of the city.
Walsh's project, which has support from Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and other local officials, appears to take a big first step toward the mayor's campaign pledge to extend downtown development out toward impoverished neighborhoods.
The initial focus is on the near South Side, according to Walsh and several people briefed on the plan. Key proposals include:
-- Renovate the long-vacant Central High School, popularly known as Central Tech, into a countywide high school focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.) Most of the students would come from within the Syracuse district, but students from suburban districts also would be accepted.
-- Expand the size and program offerings of the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center, which provides adult vocational training.
-- Expand the Technology Garden business incubator at the corner of Harrison and Warren streets, which houses startup companies focused on drone technology and other emerging industries.
City Hall officials also are working with the Syracuse Housing Authority on plans to enhance the nearby Pioneer Homes and Central Village public housing projects. Housing Authority officials have said they are interested in adding mixed-income housing and mixed-use buildings in the area.
Syracuse's conversion of city streetlights to LED technology will enhance the Syracuse Surge, too, Walsh said. Streetlights will be fitted with "smart nodes'' that can provide data communication. Walsh said he plans to market Syracuse as "New York's pre-eminent smart city.''
Cuomo promised to support the Syracuse Surge in his state budget proposal, but did not promise a specific amount of state funding. He indicated that the project might draw from the $500 million awarded to Central New York in 2015 in the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. Much of the money has not been spent.
Local elected officials, South Side residents and others familiar with the Surge were delighted by the support from Cuomo.
"That's big,'' said Councilor-at-Large Khalid Bey, a South Side resident and chairman of the economic development committee. "You're talking about real investment in what is rapidly becoming our technology corridor, down there by the Tech Garden. You're talking about increased adult education opportunities.''
The boarded-up Sears building at 1300 S. Salina St., which Sears vacated in 1974, is emblematic of what Bey calls the "economic desert'' along the commercial corridor. But a $20 million plan to renovate the building for use as a drug treatment facility was loudly protested by community residents, who complained that it would not benefit the area. The project was dropped.
By contrast, Walsh’s plan has thus far received praise from neighborhood leaders, who commended the mayor for his efforts to communicate his ideas. City Councilor Latoya Allen, who represents the South Side, recently coordinated a meeting between Walsh and community residents to discuss the Surge.
Allen said the initiative is still in the planning stage, and that Walsh is open to input.
"It gives us a lot of opportunity, especially on the South Side of Syracuse, it gives a lot of opportunity for us to create some different businesses that we would want to see there,'' Allen said.
"We are in support of it,'' said Angela Wright, of TNT Southside, a neighborhood group.
Walsh said he plans to unveil more details about the Syracuse Surge when he delivers his State of the City address Thursday. He said the initiative will eventually expand to other areas of the city.
"The Syracuse Surge will make investments in technology, education, workforce training and development, housing, and infrastructure,'' Walsh said in a news release. "The Surge will attract new economic investment that will create jobs, shared prosperity, and neighborhood transformation. Our vision is to make Syracuse a growing city that embraces diversity and creates opportunity for all. Syracuse Surge is how we will do it.''
Previous efforts to revive Central Tech have failed.
Designed by famed Syracuse architect Archimedes Russell, the school opened in 1903. It closed in 1975.
A private developer launched a $7.4 million project in 1984 to transform the school into an office building called Greystone Square. But the project ran out of money and came to a halt in 1986.
The city of Syracuse later reacquired the building and made plans to reopen it as a technical vocational high school. But questions arose about the need for another city school at a time of declining enrollment. The city shelved the plans in 2008.
Randy Wolken, president of the Manufactures Association of CNY and co-chair of the Regional Economic Development Council, said the educational component of the Syracuse Surge is important in today’s economy. He said there are "hundreds of jobs'' in Central New York for which employers cannot find skilled labor.
Wolken also welcomed the investment in the urban center of Syracuse.
"It’s exciting that we would have an investment in the central city and throughout city neighborhoods,'' he said.