best is yet to come for Hotel Syracuse, owner says, The

Syracuse--A star is rising in downtown Syracuse.

Well, not a new star, but rather an old star with new luster. The 70-year-old Hotel Syracuse, now a Radisson Plaza hotel, is making believers out of even some of the biggest skeptics and most vocal detractors of Downtown.

And those in the know are giving the credit to the owner, Michael A. Bennett. But, while Bennett is pleased with the results so far, he doesn't want anyone to judge his and his staff's accomplishments yet. "Just wait," he says.

So far, renovations are completed in the Hilton Tower, and all rooms are open. The lobby, the Grand Ballroom, and several restaurants have been redecorated or restored. The hotel rooms in the Hotel Syracuse, however, are just beginning to be remodeled.

Guests no longer walk on frayed carpets with seams held down by duct tape. Peeling paint is nowhere to be seen. Woodwork is refinished or replaced. It is an image of a well-run and up-to-date hotel with the elegance of an earlier-time.

And the staff has a new attitude. Service is warm. And the employees are conscientious, helpful, and attentive. No longer do guests or visitors have to hunt down help or wait for answers to simple questions.

Regular visitors to the hotel are impressed. And they should be. Until as recently as early 1993, many in Syracuse were pessimistic about the future of the downtown landmark. Appearances certainly supported their dire predictions. It was shabby. Service was shabby at best, surly at worst. And area businesses and organizations were looking every place but the Hotel Syracuse for meeting accommodations.

It had suffered years of neglect under the ownership of Joseph Murphy. Not the fault of Murphy, however, according to Bennett. Murphy came in with fanfare and lots of support from community and political leaders, who saw his plans for the hotel as the first step toward revitalization of Downtown Syracuse.

Murphy borrowed heavily to make renovations and build the Hilton Tower in 1979. But none of the moves brought a significant increase in business to the hotels, so debts mounted. Creditors and government officials grew hostile, leading to the city's attempt to evict him and to the hotels' filing for bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy court appointed Bennett to manage the hotels in January 1993. Within months, Bennett began negotiating to buy the landmark, and the deal was closed in July.

Murphy's ill fortune yielded Bennett's opponunity. "It was really a mater of timing. The unfortunate thing for Joe Murphy was that he was trying to lead the pack. He made the decision to add a ballroom and 200 rooms, taking on a substantial amount of debt at a time when downtown was still on the decline," Bennett says.

Had Murphy made a similar move now, he speculates, he probably could have made it work. But there was no OnCenter back then. The War Memorial had not been renovated, and business offices and stores were still migrating to the suburbs.

Hotel manager Joseph Kelly observes, "Buying a business right doesn't just mean buying it at the right price, but also buying that the right time. The right facilities are available downtown now, and the right things are happening downtown to make this a success."

The ones who took the risks downtown, according to Bennett, were the early investors in the Armory Square area. "If those people hadn't taken those risks and made a success of it, I don't think anyone would have come up with the money for the streetscape improvements downtown, nor would as many businesses be moving back downtown," Bennett reasons.

When Bennett decided that the time was right for the hotel, he considered seeking incentives or other assistance from economic-development officials, but decided against it. "Such an antagonistic relationship developed between the city, the bankers, and the previous owner that I think it would have been very hard to put a deal together," he says.

"Aside from being included in the economic-development zone, which gets us somewhat of a break on the energy costs, I didn't use any government programs. If I had, I don't think I ever would have gotten the deal completed," Bennett said.

For Bennett to be successful, he and Kelly need two things: a consistent level of business and corporate traffic, and more convention activity in Syracuse and Onondaga County. The convention traffic is definitely coming, through the efforts of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the city's chamber of commerce.

Among the major groups to arrive this summer is the American Baptist Church, which is bringing in about 5,300 people in June. August will see the U.S. Amateur Rollerskating Federation, with 6,750 visitors to Syracuse. But the big one for the summer is the National Street Rods Association convention. That will bring about 26,000 people to town.

On the agenda for 1996 are the New York State School Boards Association, the Empire State Round Dance Association, and the New York Association of Convenience Stores. And 1997, according to Bennett, promises to be the best convention year of all for local hotels--the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church-USA and several others are already on tap.