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Business revival brings new life to heart of downtown Syracuse

CNY Business Journal (1994-95), Oct 03, 1994 by Harting, Don

SYRACUSE--A bright white spark glows where a welder busies himself renovating the East Jefferson Street facade of the old Dey Brothers department store building.

A deafening whir fills the 400 block of South Salina Street as a telescoping crane removes chunks of pebbly panels from the front of the old Sibley's building.

A block away on South Warren Street, the pungent sweetness of fresh paint and new carpet fills the nostrils of a visitor to the fifth floor of the office tower at The Galleries, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture has just moved more than 100 employees into newly leased space.

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These are just a few of the many sights, sounds, and smells of prosperity returning to the heart of downtown Syracuse. After years of dormancy and decay, the soul of the Salt City is reviving.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. is undertaking the thorough rehabilitation of the old Dey Brothers landmark. When the project is finished, the utility will consolidate many of its customer-service functions now being done in the suburbs and surrounding counties. It's one of the rare occasions when downtown Syracuse will be growing at the expense of outlying areas.

More than 83,000 square feet of office and retail space has been leased inside The Galleries since its management changed less than 18 months ago. Travel agencies, law offices, a health clinic, and government offices fill space that had gone empty for several years.

Meanwhile major renovations continue at the nearby Hotel Syracuse. Already the grand ballroom has been refurbished with freshly gilt pillars and mouldings. Many guest rooms are being refurbished, the old cocktail lounge has been replaced with a comedy club, and a new sports bar has opened on the first floor.

"Downtown is alive and well," claims Steven Webster, leasing director for The Galleries. "There are a lot of things going on here."

Webster could not have said the same thing as recently as 20 months ago, when Central New York was in the grip of winter and recession at the same time. The landmark Hotel Syracuse, suffering from neglect inside and out, presented a drab appearance to first-time visitors. Passersby on the sidewalks of Salina Street faced the bleak prospect of vacant display windows flanking both sides of the city's main artery. The Galleries, which prides itself on being "the showplace of Central New York" showed little more than that businesses were in trouble.

Even today, the recession's legacy lingers in some places. Empty storefronts still yawn at pedestrians in the 300 blocks of South Salina and South Warren Streets. The Dome Hotel, located at the pivotal junction between Armory Square and downtown Syracuse, stands empty. New tenants have yet to be found to fill the spaces formerly occupied by Economy Books and Stationers, Wig Land, and Jay's Bargains, among others.

Nor has the new blood pumping through the city's main arteries reached its capillaries.

"Business is lousy downtown." complains Frederick L. School, owner of Syracuse Stamp & Coin Co., a storefront hidden on Bank Alley between Salina and Warren.

Still, many agree that downtown Syracuse has come a long way in recent months.

Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Syracuse office, credits the bracing effect of interest rates. As long as short-term interest rates were declining, business owners had every reason to postpone borrowing for expansion, Paprocki said. But when the Federal Reserve Board began raising short-term rates earlier this year, owners soon realized it was in their financial interest to borrow quickly before rates rose any more, said Paprocki.

Gina Wattam, a small-business counselor for Onondaga Community College on Onondaga Hill, believes the revival is the result of a potent mix of the availability of ultra-small business loans combined with intensive management training for entrepreneurs offered by local government.

In particular, Wattam cites the work of the city's Urban Business Opportunity Center, which conditions its financial support on the borrower's successful completion of 60 hours of training in such business basics as how to write marketing plans and how to set up accounting systems.

Kofi Quay, the soon-to-be owner of Shah News, a small newsstand at 499 S. Warren St., gives the credit to City Hall.

"I think city government has shown a commitment to revive downtown," said Quay as he waited on customers. "A lot of positive things are happening, especially in Armory Square. The development there has been phenomenal."

Meanwhile, Joseph Mareane, director of economic development for the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, thinks the revival stems from a subtle change in thinking on the part of Syracusans. What formerly was downtown Syracuse's greatest liability--its age--is fast becoming its greatest asset, Mareane feels.

Encouraged by the restoration of historic buildings in Armory Square, downtown property owners are realizing that behind facades erected in the 1960s and 1970s hide many beautiful, original structures. The architecture of suburban office parks in Liverpool or DeWitt pales by comparison to what can be found downtown, says Mareane.

Business revival brings new life to heart of downtown Syracuse

CNY Business Journal (1994-95), Oct 03, 1994 by Harting, Don

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