A community project meant to help rejuvenate a Southside Syracuse neighborhood is moving ahead, hoping to use state, local and federal funds and tax breaks to get it going. Developers say the Southside Renaissance Project will be transformative in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Mayor Ben Walsh, along with Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, grew up around the corner of the proposed project.
“We spent our days coming down the hill playing baseball in Elmwood Park, going to Wilson Hill’s on the corner, getting our haircut,” said Walsh. “So, this is personal for us.”
The county and city are among those promising tax breaks and grants for the $41 million project. A coalition of organizations led by Charlene Tarver plans to piece together grants and funds from state and federal governments as well. In the end, Tarver says the two-building project will include more than just 75 apartments for seniors, and more.
“There’s a ground floor public facing food hall, daycare, workforce lab, event space or gathering space for our community,” Tarver said. “There’s a rooftop garden for our seniors, broadband access, and there’s an incubator that will support both the food hall and a retail and outlet of retail resources for the community.”
The project received a big boost when Brooklyn-based St. Nicks Alliance came on board to be a co-developer. Housing director Frank Lang says the organization’s goal is to change the lives of residents, with a focus on housing and workforce development.
“We believe that this project is unique in that it really creates a focal point in the community,” said Lang. He will be applying for some federal funds next year, and expects groundbreaking to happen in 2027, with the project completed in 2029.
Tarver says this will transform what’s called the Elmwood neighborhood.
“We’re a daycare desert. We’re a food desert. We’re a retail desert,” she said. “So, we know that by bringing this project to this community, we’re bringing very critical resources that help economically revitalize and stabilize the community.”
A few blocks away, there’s another housing project getting going as well, that’s expected to bring more than 51 apartments to a community that hasn’t seen any new development in years.
