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I think the bigger question is does CenterState CEO want to attract new companies in Syracuse. Based on the information I've read on their website, the coverage in the P-S, and ToeJam's comments it appears that they want to keep everything in the family, so to speak. This means, they don't want outside developers and investors doing projects in Syracuse, because several local developers and contractors who are influential on the board could stand to lose market share, tenants, and access to grants which results in lost revenue.
CenterState CEO has sat silent while the state has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Utica for nanotech, cyber security, and back office financial services jobs. Rob Simpson's father was president of Utica College and he may want to see Utica-Rome revitalize at the expense of Syracuse. Cuomo avoids Syracuse like the plague and doesn't want to give a penny to this community based on what I believe is a personal bias against this region that predates his dealings with Mayor Miner. When someone thinks Rochester is being slighted or shortchanged by the State, Mark Peterson of the Greater Rochester Enterprise and his predecessor Sandy (forgot the last name of that old bag) would resort to taking politicians, including Cuomo and local elected officials, to ask by firing off angry editorials to the Democrat and Chronicle and appearing on local television news. In nearly all cases, the tactic worked. CenterState and Rob Simpson are passive and allow Cuomo and his goons to snub Syracuse each and every day. I am now convinced that Joanie Mahoney, Mayor Miner and CenterState CEO want adjacent areas like Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, and Utica to get the lion's share of state funding because they are too lazy to come up with plans that could make a compelling case for the state or a business to invest in Syracuse.
It's becoming more apparent, that CenterState doesn't want companies to establish operations in the area because their existing chamber members don't want it as they would prefer the region wither and die if it means they will lose out on business. If more companies relocate to Syracuse, existing businesses will have to increase wages to retain existing employees who will jump at the chance of working for a new company. A lot of these small, family-owned businesses are cheap and don't want to create a work environment and compensation structure that is competitive to retain and attract employees. I really get the impression that the goal of CenterState CEO is to suffocate the local economy so that the only growth is from a couple of existing, politically connected businesses and nonprofits that would have no chance of effectively competing for talent and clients in a major metropolitan area.
To capture the attention of a lot of the stupid rubes , CenterState conveniently resorts to distractions like Chris Fowler and his dubious organization called "Syracuse First." A lot of that man's rhetoric is collectivist and insular in nature. He must have a rule of mentioning "sustainable" at least 15 times in a 2 minute sound bite to sound more enlightened. Fowler has no business background and previously worked for a politician in Washington, D.C. He is hack, plain and simple and too many people are buying his scam. This "10%" theory he constantly parrots is specious and is a universal theme in"Buy Local" movements across the country. Creating a few thousand jobs due to shifts in consumer behavior is nothing to get exited about, particularly in a community the size of Syracuse. A couple of thousand new jobs in a labor force of more than 300,000 people is a drop in the bucket and if it occurred, that growth rate would still be below the state and national average. Most of the jobs that would be created under this 10% shift, would be low paying and unskilled.
It pains me to see these charlatans become so successful at their game of low expectations and small town politics one would expect to see in the deep south or Appalachia. They get away with it because the Syracuse Post-Standard is in the bag and doesn't want to alienate its advertisers (many of which are members of CenterState) by asking the tough questions. The problem with the New Times is that most of its core readership and "reporters" agree with the CenterState CEO strategy because its comes across as grassroots, edgy, isolationist, unremarkable, anti-corporate, and small town in nature. Who doesn't want to support local retail business? I certainly do, but that is not going to improve downward spiral of the local economy.
The nanotech stuff really makes my blood boil. Utica has been fixated on getting nanotech there since I was a kid. Meanwhile, the Utica-Rome metro area has 99.3% unemployment and the .07% of people that have a job work at Walmart or Target ... and they keep letting businesses close left and right ... but don't worry!!! They are getting a nanotech center, maybe, eventually ...
The nanotech stuff really makes my blood boil. Utica has been fixated on getting nanotech there since I was a kid. Meanwhile, the Utica-Rome metro area has 99.3% unemployment and the .07% of people that have a job work at Walmart or Target ... and they keep letting businesses close left and right ... but don't worry!!! They are getting a nanotech center, maybe, eventually ...
I know that the Utica-Rome area needs it and other areas have also been on the nanotech radar for years, but I believe that Griffiss Business Park has some good companies there and there are some others in the area like PAR Tech and Conmed.
Sorry, but many people disagree with you. I have been watching the Destiny USA saga unfold for well over 10 years. Long before it was a dream (or nightmare) for Syracuse. Syracuse wasn't Congel's first pick for this "vision." Crossgates was and judging by the junk stores he's lopping in there, I'm ecstatic that Guilderland told him to **** off.
Packed parking lots? Many of those are employees. Excited about Canadian shopping? Great. What about AMERICANS?
Let's be real....Burlington Coat Factory, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc, etc, etc, etc were ALL already in the area! It's not like Dick's was never in the Syracuse area until this project. So what's there to get excited over? If you've ever seen the drawings and proposals for Destiny, then you would be VERY underwhelmed. This was supposed to be a grand destination......not Dick's Sporting Goods!
Indeed. I remember being an 11 year old when the Crossgates expansion was being proposed. The Times Union did a whole feature on it with a big color map of what was being proposed. I had stars in my eyes. Flashforward to when I was in college 6 years later and my Syracuse friends were excited about Destiny and the tourism it would bring in. I knew then we had dodged an expensive bullet.
Indeed. I remember being an 11 year old when the Crossgates expansion was being proposed. The Times Union did a whole feature on it with a big color map of what was being proposed. I had stars in my eyes. Flashforward to when I was in college 6 years later and my Syracuse friends were excited about Destiny and the tourism it would bring in. I knew then we had dodged an expensive bullet.
While there are some other stores that are new to the area or maybe even state/region, I think the entertainment options seem to bring good amount of people there.
While there are some other stores that are new to the area or maybe even state/region, I think the entertainment options seem to bring good amount of people there.
It is not worth it. The amount of tax abatements that were given to this guy so he could make money, for a "good amount of people." Syracuse, and all of Upstate NY for that matter, could do more to bring in jobs than be distracted by the latest flashy project. Whether it is this, the Fast Ferry in Rochester, or the proposed convention center in Albany. At a certain point we have to say NO.
It's like the Monorail on The Simpsons. A flashy albatross will not fix the root causes of what undermines our economy and has our young people (myself included) fleeing in droves.
It is not worth it. The amount of tax abatements that were given to this guy so he could make money, for a "good amount of people." Syracuse, and all of Upstate NY for that matter, could do more to bring in jobs than be distracted by the latest flashy project. Whether it is this, the Fast Ferry in Rochester, or the proposed convention center in Albany. At a certain point we have to say NO.
It's like the Monorail on The Simpsons. A flashy albatross will not fix the root causes of what undermines our economy and has our young people (myself included) fleeing in droves.
I don't think that anyone is disagreeing with the amount of tax breaks or even with the way the expansion was built, but it has also brought in people from different areas in the state, perhaps region and definitely from Canada. So, I don't know if I'd put it on the same level as the Fast Ferry.
Then, you have the fact that people say "No", but never have an alternative. So, there at least needs to be another plan presented in order get what the people need and want.
The nanotech stuff really makes my blood boil. Utica has been fixated on getting nanotech there since I was a kid. Meanwhile, the Utica-Rome metro area has 99.3% unemployment and the .07% of people that have a job work at Walmart or Target ... and they keep letting businesses close left and right ... but don't worry!!! They are getting a nanotech center, maybe, eventually ...
I didn't realize the nanotech plans had been around that long. I assumed it was one of Cuomo's bird brained ideas. I agree with your take on Utica-Rome. Having deep family roots in the Mohawk Valley on my mother's (mostly in eastern Herkimer and western Montgomery counties), I would love to see the Valley prosper once again. I'm not convinced it will be through nanotech and many of the problems that Utica has have been self inflicted through shady politicians.
Ah, if by "supposed to be," you mean "what the Post-Standard and some simple folk strongly hoped it would be," that might be so.
But "supposed to be," as in "what the developer always intended to build," this it it: a somewhat limited, one-phase mall expansion that is a cash cow because it is exempt from property taxes.
[Also, I don't think the nationality of the owners of the cars in the parking lots matters one bit, but that's beside the point.]
No, I mean when Destiny was planned for Guilderland. Crossgates was the original destination for this disaster. Guilderland told Congel to go away. Syracuse said oh we'll give you the moon, stars, and oceans....please build it. He did NOT build what he promised. Not at all.
You want to see a REAL mall that has great shopping and dining along with outlet shops? Go to Concord Mills in Concord, NC. It's a property by SIMON and it's well done. It's the #1 attraction in NC. Destiny hopes one day to aspire to that mall and have the traffic it gets.
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