Common Council approves demolition of former Syracuse Developmental Center

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The Syracuse City Common Council on Monday approved the demolition and remediation of existing structures at the former Syracuse Developmental Center, a nearly 50-acre campus at 800 S. Wilbur Ave. roughly two miles away from Syracuse University’s main campus.

The Common Council’s decision advances the city’s effort to replace the vacant asylum with 500 units of affordable housing. The council originally approved the demolition on March 27, but Monday’s amendment includes new site work that had not been previously outlined, according to the Common Council’s meeting agenda.

The demolition phase of the initiative will cost over $26 million and will be entirely reimbursed through New York State’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year. In June 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state’s decision to provide $29 million for the demolition of the former asylum.

A portion of the remaining $3 million will be used to fund water and sewer service lines, roads, sidewalks, tree planting and street lighting along the access roads to the site, which is located in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood.

The Syracuse Developmental Center initially served as a state asylum in the latter half of the 1800s and later became the Syracuse State School in 1927. In the 1970s, the school closed, and the building was converted into housing for local residents. It has been vacant since 1998 due to a shift in care practices for people with disabilities, according to the Onondaga Historical Association.

The campus will include mixed-income housing and workforce complexes, according to CNY Central.

Mayor Ben Walsh previously proposed using part of the campus for new tech manufacturing companies, especially in the wake of Micron Technology’s investment in the central New York area.

Other business

• The council authorized an agreement with the La Liga Westside Village Housing Development Fund Corporation to build 68 affordable housing units throughout Syracuse.
• The council authorized the use of up to $500,000 dollars of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to offset project costs at 1081 S. Salina St. for a total of 24 mixed-income rental and commercial units.
• The city will use over $1.6 million in ARPA funds to update Syracuse’s existing signal infrastructure as part of its Emergency Signal Preemption Project, which will upgrade traffic signal equipment and reconstruct ramps for people with disabilities. Additionally, the council approved an over $2 million contract with Global Traffic Technologies, LLC. to improve the emergency signal preemption system for the fire department.