City of Syracuse seeks bids to demolish site of former Syracuse Developmental Center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The City of Syracuse has opened the public-bidding process for demolition of the site of the former Syracuse Developmental Center at 800-02 South Wilbur Ave. on the City’s west side.

The City is seeking qualified construction demolition firms to clear the buildings, complete site remediation, and prepare for future construction, the office of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced Tuesday.

“Demolition is a crucial step forward on the path toward getting this long vacant property back on the tax roll and into productive use,” Walsh said. “I thank Governor Hochul for providing critical state funding for the next phase of this transformative mixed-use project. This site is ideally suited to meet the growing need for quality mixed income housing and high-tech manufacturing space in Syracuse.”

A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for Nov. 28 at 1:00 p.m. in the iLab Conference Room in Room 215 of Syracuse City Hall and contractors will be able to visit the site after the meeting. Demolition and environmental remediation work is anticipated to begin in early 2024.

For more information about the bid, visit https://goto.syr.gov/sdc-bid-notice.

Those interested can submit proposals to the City of Syracuse Division of Purchase in City Hall Room 213 by 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 20, per Walsh’s office.

Project background

The City of Syracuse seized the 48-acre site at 800-02 South Wilbur Ave. in 2019 after about two decades of vacancy and tax delinquency, during which the property was vandalized and fell into “significant disrepair,” Walsh’s office said.

Although the city “stabilized the site” during the past four years, the existing buildings cannot be cost-effectively repurposed given “significant” remediation needs. In July, the Syracuse Common Council approved a multi-unit plan for about 440 apartments and 60 to 85 townhouses on the property near the Rozamond Gifford Zoo.

To “facilitate and accelerate” the private-sector investment and redevelopment of the site, the City is now soliciting bids from qualified contractors to undertake demolition/environmental remediation of the existing structures and grading of the site in the building-demolition location.

Upon completion of the demolition, crews will complete other key infrastructure upgrades to water/sewer, roads, tree canopy, and lighting as a separate phase of the overall project.