Are smaller apartments an answer for Syracuse’s housing crunch? A developer explores the idea:
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2023/1...-the-idea.html
"The new owners of a historic former Syracuse factory aim to redevelop the structure into a mixed-use complex that could help fill the city’s need for new housing.
The four principals of Bright Structures LLC are exploring the idea of putting as many as 30 apartments inside the 137-year-old building on the city’s Near West Side.
There’s nothing new about studios or small apartments in and around Syracuse. But these developers are trying to figure out just how many apartments they can fit into the former Engelberg Huller Co. building to make financial sense for both investors and renters.
Currently, they’re looking at carving out 600-square-foot apartments in two floors of the building at 831 W. Fayette St., according to Jonathan LaSala, an associate real estate broker with Acropolis Realty Group and one of the building’s new owners.
A 600-foot apartment is about twice the size of the average standard room in a mid-range hotel.
The apartments at the Engelberg Huller buildings would be smaller than many of the apartments recently built in nearby downtown Syracuse, which are usually 1,000 square feet or more.
LaSala said the goal is to fit as many apartments as possible into the building to help fill the city’s need for new housing and what the development team believes will be demand for smaller, more affordable units than those found downtown.
The effort comes as Syracuse faces a historically tight housing market. Prices have hit all-time highs. And the inventory of homes for sale have shrunk to a quarter of what it was just a decade ago.
Demand for new housing is expected to get even stronger when Micron Technology builds a planned $100 billion semiconductor plant in nearby Clay. Micron has said the facility will create up to 9,000 Micron jobs and more than 40,000 jobs at related supply chain and other employers over 20 years.
The West Fayette Street project is in its early stages. The group bought the building for $450,000 in May 2022 and has held preliminary discussions city officials.
Rents for the apartments have not been set. Rents for many of the new apartments built downtown in the past few years start at around $1,500 and run up to more than $4,000 a month. Sizes start at about 1,000 square feet and go up to 2,000 square feet.
“Some of the rents downtown, we understand why they’re high, but we’re trying to build something more affordable,” said LaSala.
The first floor of the former factory is set to become the new home of The Print Hub, a screen-printing, merchandising and web design business that has outgrown its space at the nearby Gear Factory building.
The Print Hub will be the property’s main commercial anchor, occupying up to 13,000 square feet of space on the first floor, LaSala said. Print Hub principal Drew Shoup, Alec LaBounty and Gerald Cushing are partners along with LaSala in Bright Structures.
The former Engelberg Huller building is within walking distance of downtown and Armory Square.
West Fayette Street, a main thoroughfare connecting Tipperary Hill to downtown, is seeing a resurgence with projects like the Gear Factory, Ponchito’s Taqueria restaurant and the planned apartments at the former Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing building, another 19th century structure..
The former Engelberg Huller building is within walking distance of downtown and Armory Square.
West Fayette Street, a main thoroughfare connecting Tipperary Hill to downtown, is seeing a resurgence with projects like the Gear Factory, Ponchito’s Taqueria restaurant and the planned apartments at the former Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing building, another 19th century structure..
LaSala said the group would like to begin the redevelopment by early next year.
“We’re hoping to get the Print Hub in here in the spring,” he said during a tour of the building.
The development team is seeking tenants for the approximately 13,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space the Print Hub will not occupy. It’s also open to bringing in additional partners, LaSala said.
The project has received approvals for a $150,000 state grant, a $100,000 grant from National Grid, and a $50,000 grant from the city’s Commercial Corridor Improvement Fund, money that comes from the federal American Rescue Plan. In addition, the Print Hub has been approved for up to $114,000 in tax credits under the state’s Excelsior Jobs Program.
LaSala said the project will also be eligible for historic tax credits.
The grants and tax credits will help make the development financially feasible, he said.
The red brick building was built at the southeast corner of West Fayette and Seneca streets in 1886 and was occupied by Engelberg Huller the next year. The building was later expanded with two one-story additions.
Engelberg manufactured machines that removed the husks and shells from rice and coffee during the milling process. The machines became best sellers worldwide, to the point where the company’s name became synonymous with rice processing.
It was one of several manufacturers of agricultural equipment on West Fayette Street. The others included Kemp & Burpee and the large Syracuse Chilled Plow complex.
Engelberg diversified into machine and aircraft parts production in later years. It moved to the city’s North Side in 1965 and was later acquired by Sundstrand Corp.
Case Supply Inc., a seller of kitchen cabinets, later used the West Fayette Street building as a warehouse and showroom. The structure has been vacant in recent years, but the Engelberg Huller Co. name and the words “Rice & Coffee Machinery” remain painted on the front of the building. The Case Supply name is still painted on the east side of the building.
“It’s just been sitting here for years and years,” said LaSala. “It’s such a beautiful building. Why not put it back online?”
Location:
https://www.datawrapper.de/_/lMcXe/
A street view of the building:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0468...8192?entry=ttu
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