JP Morgan Chase Hiring for Syracuse Tech Center (New York, Clay: real estate, city hall)

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by CUPlanner

I am a big supporter of fostering a sustainable, "green" community and image in Syracuse. Although the word "green" is thrown around too much these days, very few places Syracuse's size and larger really embody the principles and fundamentals of environmentally-friendly design and sustainability. The City of Syracuse already has strong urban form and at least the building blocks of quality infrasturcure, as well as a high percentage of pedestrian commuters (something like 11% or so) and a good number of commuters who car pool and take the bus. I think that doing things like improving the side walks and mandating the removal of snow from them, expanding the number of bike paths in downtown and throughout the city, along with bicycle rental stations downtown, creating a bigger car sharing program, and actively pursuing the renewal and expansion of OnTrack services, possibly into a commuter role, are all things that are doable in the near future and would greatly advance the sustainability agenda here. Let us not forget that Syracuse is very close to Ithaca, too, which is often voted the "greenest" place in America, and I dont think it would take too much effort to reinevent and market CNY and Syracuse as a sustainable environment and the city as something of a "Portland-East." These types of initiatives not only improve the quality of life for area residents, but create a cooler and hipper environment than we currently have as a marketing tool, especially for younger people.

I have a lot more ideas to go along with those I just listed, but the bottom line is that, like RollsRoyce said, the city has a lot of strong assets, they just need to be connected and put to better use. As someone who studies city planning and has looked at the various revitalization efforts of cities throughout the US and Europe, one of the first things that needs to be done is to improve the quality of life in and the image of the city. Of course aggressive economic development recruitment and retainment efforts should be carried out simultaneously, but without improving quality of life and image, as well as the level of civil prode and involvement, the efforts will fall short, I guarantee it. Economic development around here is not just about moving businesses in and trying to locate them downtown, it is also about showing that we have something to offer which trumps or is at least competitive with things that can be found in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, DC and, more importantly, Raleigh, Charlotte, and other midsize Southern and Mid-Atlantic cities.

Very, very true and that's why I think Syracuse also needs to market and take advantage of it's location too. When you are in the middle of two national capitals and the biggest cities of two countries, that is something that needs to be taken advantage of. Then, you have other major cities like Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh not too far away either. So, transportation options need to be explored, big time.

I would love to see OnTrack come back with trains running in and around the city. Even if it is another line or two, it could be another alternative to driving in an area that wants to go "green". A Solvay or Baldwinville to East Syracuse/Minoa line and goes on the tracks through the Liverpool area would be great. If you look at old train lines, you could possibly use a line for the Dewitt and the East Side going between I-690 and Erie Boulevard East and perhaps, build off of that.

Also, instead of building new buildings, why not use the old warehouses and factories on the West Side that are abandoned for condos, studios, galleries, musuems and mixed usage like the project being built in Armory Square. I've always wondered what is going on with the warehouse where Erie Boulevard West goes over West St. or the one at the intersection of S. Geddes and W. Fayette. Those could be used in conjunction with the Near West Side Initiative project. Another building that could be put to good use is the old Marcellus Casket factory on Richmond Ave. near Park Ave. and Auto Row. It's in a very walkable distance to Downtown, as are the other buildings mentioned. Same can be said of some buildings on the East Side like the old factory near Cherry and East Fayette Sts. I've wondered about the Sears Building on South Salina Street, that is owned by CENTRO too. I think that would be a way to go green by finding some usage for these buildings.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Park

I do agree that Syracuse blows the Raleighs and Charlottes away in regard to various green and quality-of-life concerns. And the building blocks are indeed in place. For a "Portland of the East," though, maybe Syracuse could take a page from its western counterpart's playbook and institute some firm regulations regarding urban growth boundaries. It's horrible that Onondaga County's population stagnated while eating up something like 35 or 40% more land between 1980 and 20009. Yet we still see hideous developments that the one pictured in the area construction thread on this forum: generic, 1990s-style greenfield development.

It's disappointing to see green space destroyed in the name of residential development; it's worse when that development is completely without merit and occurs in a region with the quality of old, undervalued housing stock that Upstate New York has. Nothing green about that. Local government has to get serious about stopping sprawl and bolstering the tax base of developed neighborhoods with established infrastructure and true urban street grids. And if the nattering nabobs of negativity don't like it, I'm sure there's a lovely vinyl-clad suburban home outside of Raleigh that would interest them.

Exactly and I think some of our dense villages like East Syracuse and Solvay have somewhat fell victim to this somewhat unecessary sprawl. Those two villages could be jewels considering that they are still relatively safe, have good schools, have a sense of community and have character. Same could be said of some older suburban communities like Nedrow or Mattydale. I think a "Ferndale, Michigan" type of development could work in both with their simple layouts and business ares/districts. Meaning, nice communities for families, but even attracting a niche group of people as well. These things could be said of other villages and communities in the area as well.

[phaelon56]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

I've always wondered what is going on with the warehouse where Erie Boulevard West goes over West St. or the one at the intersection of S. Geddes and W. Fayette

It's under development and has quite a few tenants - now known as the Gear Factory. Owner Rick Destito has hopes of eventually developing residential space on the upper two floors but right now it's artist's studio, music rehearsal space and some other arts related functions.

[CUPlanner]

Very good points Cleveland Park and Ckh, I should have mentioned the glut of vacant or underutilized buildings in my rant : ) It is deplorable the amount of sprawl that is allowed in the area. Unfortunately, I believe the perception around here is that any type of comprehensive zoning laws would stifle growth, in addition to the fact that we have too many municipalities squabbling for residents and resources to take a look at the big picture. (I think a new comprehensive REGIONAL and county plan is essential for our future, where all of the major leaders for Onondaga, Oswego, Cortland, Cayuga, Madison, Tompkins, Oneida, and Chenango counties sit down and spell out our vision, goals, and measures that need to be taken.)

Ckh, I have also wondered about those warehouses, especially the old Cold Storage warehouse on Erie Boulevard West next to West Street. It has such great frontage facing West Street and downtown, its near Armory Square, and it has good access to the core and the region via Erie Boulevard and the West Street arterial. I think it would be a great candidate for reuse, or if the building cannot be salvaged, at least the site should be developed. We need to building off of the strong foundation in Armory to other parts of Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by CUPlanner

Very good points Cleveland Park and Ckh, I should have mentioned the glut of vacant or underutilized buildings in my rant : ) It is deplorable the amount of sprawl that is allowed in the area. Unfortunately, I believe the perception around here is that any type of comprehensive zoning laws would stifle growth, in addition to the fact that we have too many municipalities squabbling for residents and resources to take a look at the big picture. (I think a new comprehensive REGIONAL and county plan is essential for our future, where all of the major leaders for Onondaga, Oswego, Cortland, Cayuga, Madison, Tompkins, Oneida, and Chenango counties sit down and spell out our vision, goals, and measures that need to be taken.)

Ckh, I have also wondered about those warehouses, especially the old Cold Storage warehouse on Erie Boulevard West next to West Street. It has such great frontage facing West Street and downtown, its near Armory Square, and it has good access to the core and the region via Erie Boulevard and the West Street arterial. I think it would be a great candidate for reuse, or if the building cannot be salvaged, at least the site should be developed. We need to building off of the strong foundation in Armory to other parts of Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

My thoughts exactly.....That's where vision for the area has to be something that community leaders keep in mind when they use terms like green and the availability of buildings that are currently not being used or are underutilized. Why not use such buildings for things like a supermarket in close proximity to Downtown or for projects like Pittsburgh's SouthSide Works?: SouthSide Works , SouthSide Works - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia That would be something that one can honestly consider to be "green" and benefit the area with jobs and revive neighborhoods that have been declining.

I think the Burnet St. side of the old NY and Central RR building could be put to good use by creating living/retail spaces connected to the other side, which houses News10Now. This in turn could connect this building with the potential work that is slated for the East Genesee Corridor, the Bio Research Center and the Center of Excellence. It could also bridge that area with the Hawley Green neighborhood, that has seen some gentrification in recent years.

[ckhthankgod]

Here's another example of such work in Pittsburgh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_District_(Pittsburgh)

and an example of what I was talking about with the old Train station: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_Square

I didn't even read this before I wrote that post either.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by CUPlanner

Ckh, I have also wondered about those warehouses, especially the old Cold Storage warehouse on Erie Boulevard West next to West Street. It has such great frontage facing West Street and downtown, its near Armory Square, and it has good access to the core and the region via Erie Boulevard and the West Street arterial. I think it would be a great candidate for reuse, or if the building cannot be salvaged, at least the site should be developed. We need to building off of the strong foundation in Armory to other parts of Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Cold Storage building would be a great candidate for adaptive re-use and replacing the building's brick wall facing downtown with floor to ceiling windows would greatly enhance the approach into the CBD from I-690 and West Street. Due to the building's height above the elevated highway, condo or apartment units would have a sweeping view of the skyline. Blue and orange glass similiar to SU's warehouse would be perfect.

[Cleveland Park]

Call me crazy, but I'm still convinced that the best use for the New York Central Station is...a train station.

This isn't a 2009 idea, but some day down the line, high speed rail will be built between New York and Buffalo, maybe New York and Cleveland. That loop of track along Ley Creek between East Syracuse and the Park Street station is completely useless for that purpose; it'd have to be completely rebuilt. Even with a re-build, that routing takes trains about five miles out of the way to serve a station that will likely never be walkable from anyplace other than a mall and a baseball stadium. The natural train corridor through Syracuse goes right through the city, where it used to lie.

As gasoline gets more expensive and train travel gets more convenient and less expensive, Upstaters will recognize what an asset Amtrak can be (as it currently is for residents of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston). It's limited, though, when trains release passengers into a marginal neighborhood three miles from the center city.

When the Burt Street-Erie Boulevard portion of I-81 is removed (a must for continued large-scale economic growth of the center city), the 6- and 8-lane portions of I-690 will become superfluous: four or five lanes should suffice. Rails could share the existing viaduct, as they did until the 1960s (1962? '63?). Syracusans would have a centrally-located, walkable train station; Amtrak travelers in the Midwest and Northeast would see a troublesome bottleneck (on the south shore of Onondaga Lake) eliminated, along with an out-of-the-way bit of rail through the north side; CSX would reclaim freight tracks for freight-only use; and the city would get a huge economic generator in a transit center right at its crossroads.

No reason not to dream big. And if Syracuse is to be green, this is the way to go. Look at the most successful northeastern cities; each gets a big boost from easily-accessible train travel.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

The Cold Storage building would be a great candidate for adaptive re-use and replacing the building's brick wall facing downtown with floor to ceiling windows would greatly enhance the approach into the CBD from I-690 and West Street. Due to the building's height above the elevated highway, condo or apartment units would have a sweeping view of the skyline. Blue and orange glass similiar to SU's warehouse would be perfect.

Yes, that would really nice and you could even have a small market or store on the first floor too.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Park

Call me crazy, but I'm still convinced that the best use for the New York Central Station is...a train station.

This isn't a 2009 idea, but some day down the line, high speed rail will be built between New York and Buffalo, maybe New York and Cleveland. That loop of track along Ley Creek between East Syracuse and the Park Street station is completely useless for that purpose; it'd have to be completely rebuilt. Even with a re-build, that routing takes trains about five miles out of the way to serve a station that will likely never be walkable from anyplace other than a mall and a baseball stadium. The natural train corridor through Syracuse goes right through the city, where it used to lie.

As gasoline gets more expensive and train travel gets more convenient and less expensive, Upstaters will recognize what an asset Amtrak can be (as it currently is for residents of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston). It's limited, though, when trains release passengers into a marginal neighborhood three miles from the center city.

When the Burt Street-Erie Boulevard portion of I-81 is removed (a must for continued large-scale economic growth of the center city), the 6- and 8-lane portions of I-690 will become superfluous: four or five lanes should suffice. Rails could share the existing viaduct, as they did until the 1960s (1962? '63?). Syracusans would have a centrally-located, walkable train station; Amtrak travelers in the Midwest and Northeast would see a troublesome bottleneck (on the south shore of Onondaga Lake) eliminated, along with an out-of-the-way bit of rail through the north side; CSX would reclaim freight tracks for freight-only use; and the city would get a huge economic generator in a transit center right at its crossroads.

No reason not to dream big. And if Syracuse is to be green, this is the way to go. Look at the most successful northeastern cities; each gets a big boost from easily-accessible train travel.

Never thought about that...Would you build some rail along I-690? What would you do with the current Transportation Center? Would you keep that just for Buses or would you move them to the same location as well? What would you do with News10Now, that is using a prt of the old Train station?