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Miner Against Tax Incentives for Hotel at Destiny USA

mayor stephanie miner at a podium
Scott Willis
/
WAER News

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said Wednesday she does not support any tax breaks for the proposed Destiny USA hotel.   Developers sent a letter to the mayor and County Executive Joanie Mahoney last week expressing their intentions to build a $75 million, 252-room hotel on a parking lot across Hiawatha Boulevard.  
Miner said that, given the history Pyramid Development has in the area, any hotel construction at Destiny USA should be privately financed, without added incentives from Onondaga County: 
 
During a Q&A session, Miner said, “As you recall, part of the argument for supporting the 30-year tax break was that we were supposed to receive much more money in sales tax than we were giving up in property taxes, and that has not happened. So, while we have received more sales taxes has not dwarfed what we would have received in property taxes.” 

She also said she believes  area schools would be the ones missing out, if the tax incentives were granted: 
 
The lion’s share of property taxes goes to our school district. Our school district, right now which is in a very needy time, implementing the Common Core, looking at discipline strategies; they need those resources - arguably as much as the city does.” Miner said that it’s the retail end of the Destiny's business model that generates sales taxes, not hotels, and the argument that the hotel would generate sales taxes is not supported by facts. 
 
The developers have said they intend to seek an 18-year payment-in-lieu of taxes agreement from Onondaga County.  Miner says such a deal would cost the city $20 million in revenue – money that could be used to fix roads and water mains, and keep police officers and firefighters on the payroll.  
 
While she’s come out against the tax break, Miner acknowledged that the city has no legal authority to stop any tax break considered by the county.  

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.
Hannah vividly remembers pulling up in the driveway with her mom as a child and sitting in the car as it idled with the radio on, listening to Ira Glass finish his thought on This American Life. When he reached a transition, it was a wild race out of the car and into the house to flip on the story again and keep listening. Hannah’s love of radio reporting has stuck with her ever since.