Anyone who’s been on University Hill lately has probably noticed three massive student housing projects…
“This year marked the completion of $66 million Theory Syracuse, the $46 million 505 on Walnut, and the $41 million The Marshall, which is nearing completion. Together these projects have created 1,300 new student beds on the Hill.”
…For a total investment of $153 million. University Hill Corporation President Dave Mankiewicz highlighted the projects as part of an overall look at the year’s development during Tuesday’s annual meeting. He is concerned that the influx of new student apartments is distorting and saturating the market.
“So far what we’ve seen is that some of the older projects have been struggling, the ones that are a little further away have been struggling, and some of the units in the neighborhood have gone vacant longer or just haven’t been occupied. So we’d like to see a better balance.”
And, it appears to be on the horizon. Two to three projects are in the works on East Genesee Street corridor to create market-rate housing aimed at young professionals, university staff, and empty nesters. Mankiewicz does see the area becoming a live, work, and visit destination much like downtown has, on the other side of I-81.
“We think there’s a lot more room in the market for those more diverse groups that want to live in the center city to spread out. You look at the environment that you’ve seen, you’ve seen East Genesee Street, or you see the stage, you see the restaurants, you see all those things. You’d never have to drive to the Carrier Dome again, it’d be within walking distance.”
In all, Mankiewicz says new projects completed, launched, or announced on the Hill this year alone total $683 million. He says two other major projects are sure to have a significant impact in the coming years; the National Veterans Resource Center taking shape at Crouse and Waverly Avenues, and the future of I-81. Mankiewicz says they responded to state D-O-T questions about what’s important to the organization, but haven’t yet taken a position.
"We talked to them about the values; that we wanted to have access to that system, that we wanted to see a balanced transportation system, that we wanted to see something that would be the highest environmental and design quality, because this will be the front door and main entrance to the University Hill area," Mankiewicz said. "But my Board also said we want to see the draft environmental impact statement, we want to see the final design because things have been moving along and changing and changing and chainging."
After years of speculation and public debate, the state is expected to finally release its recommendation on the future of I-81 early next year.