SYRACUSE — COR Development Company, LLC on April 9 announced the start of the demolition work in advance of plans to break ground on development of a Starwood Aloft hotel at the Inner Harbor in June. COR is demolishing the canal-maintenance building at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. The firm expects to finish the demolition and site-clearing […]
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SYRACUSE — COR Development Company, LLC on April 9 announced the start of the demolition work in advance of plans to break ground on development of a Starwood Aloft hotel at the Inner Harbor in June.
COR is demolishing the canal-maintenance building at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor.
The firm expects to finish the demolition and site-clearing work in the week ahead, says Steve Aiello, a partner and president of COR Development Co. He spoke to the Business Journal News Network in a phone interview on April 15.
An engineering study determined that the canal-maintenance building is “structurally unsound,” COR said. The firm describes the building as “deteriorated” and will demolish the structure in the redevelopment process.
“It was unsalvageable. We couldn’t save it. The foundations were gone … so much so that they [the engineers involved] determined it was a hazard,” Aiello says.
The building was originally intended as a community boathouse, according to COR. The firm is considering alternatives for public docking and a community boat launch at the site.
“We are planning another building there and we are going to at least try to reflect some of the architectural [characteristics] of the building that was there,” he says.
The early work allows the Fayetteville–based real-estate development firm to prepare the site for further development, including the future relocation of the canal freight house.
COR has completed a review process under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQR, which enables the company to begin construction.
Besides the demolition work, COR is also seeking final approvals from the city of Syracuse Planning Commission for the Aloft hotel and for the construction of new city streets and public infrastructure in the development of the Inner Harbor’s western shore.
“We hope to have that completed … by the middle to the end of May,” Aiello says.
Besides the hotel, the $350 million redevelopment effort will also include educational facilities and several mixed-use complexes with office, retail, and residential components, COR said.
COR in 2012 pursued the project because the firm focuses on urban redevelopment and most of the partners are from the Syracuse area, Aiello says.
“We have watched that particular piece of real estate, which is a great piece of real estate, sit there year after year with no activity,” he adds.
The firm viewed the Inner Harbor as a “prime target” for development.
An advisory committee of the city of Syracuse chose COR’s proposal for development over two others.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Syracuse in early October of last year to announce plans for a new $18 million, 130-room Aloft Hotel at the city’s Inner Harbor.
Financing
COR Development on March 21 announced it will not seek “special” financial assistance from the city of Syracuse or Onondaga County for the development of a Starwood Hotels & Resorts Aloft in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor.
COR doesn’t intend to pursue a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to develop the project “other than those standard programs already authorized by municipalities available to all development,” according to its news release.
Aiello credits the involvement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s regional economic- development council (REDC) and “conventional” funding sources for its decision not to seek a PILOT agreement from the city or county.
“We’re going to borrow that money. We’re going to guarantee the loan and go forward and build it,” Aiello says.
When asked if he could name the lender, Aiello replied, “Not at this point because we’re negotiating with them.”
Its decision not to pursue a PILOT agreement is “in keeping” with a commitment it made to the Syracuse Common Council during the early stages of the Inner Harbor project that COR would only pursue such an agreement it felt the need.
As the project moved along, COR felt “there wasn’t a necessity” to pursue such an agreement, Aiello said.
Job creation
The Starwood Hotels & Resorts Aloft will create 70 permanent jobs and 200 construction jobs for the Central New York region.
COR will break ground on the project in June. The hotel is tentatively scheduled to open in late 2015.
COR’s plans for the hotel include a community-benefits agreement with the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Center (SUNY EOC) to “ensure employment opportunities are provided directly to the community,” the firm said in its news release.
The program is a “new concept,” Aiello says.
“We put together this five or six-step program of what our needs are going to be and what kind of training these folks are going to be [receiving]. We left it to EOC to implement the training,” he says.
Initially, the jobs will include positions in construction and will evolve into openings for property management, hotel management, operations, and security, he adds.
The EOCs work to provide educational and vocational-training opportunities to “disadvantaged” adults, urban communities, and employers of New York, according to the SUNY EOC website.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com