SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University in August announced it has moved 170 employees to the Galleries of Syracuse at 441 S. Salina St. in Syracuse. It’s the first group of a total of 400 employees that Upstate Medical says will work in the downtown venue by this fall.
The building’s name will change to Mackenzie Hughes Tower in December when the Syracuse–based law firm moves its offices into the facility as well.
Those who work in Upstate’s information-management technology department moved to the Galleries on Aug. 22, Tom Pelis, Upstate’s assistant VP for facilities and planning, told HealthCare Provider the following day.
The medical school’s hospital-finance department will relocate in October, he added.
The departments have been operating at the Widewaters Office Park in DeWitt. The departments have worked in that location for about 10 years and the lease was up, according to Pelis.
When all Upstate Medical employees are moved downtown, it will occupy 60,000 square feet on the fourth and fifth floors of the Galleries.
The space became available with the relocation of the Onondaga County Central Library to the main floor. Onondaga County owns the fourth and fifth floors of the Galleries.
The medical school started thinking about relocation in 2014.
“After discussion with leadership, we decided that they really ought to be downtown because that’s where Upstate is,” said Pelis.
As a state entity, Upstate Medical University issued a request-for-proposals for new space. Upstate preferred the Galleries location because it’s just a few blocks from the medical school’s campus.
“It was just a good match,” he noted.
The offices of Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner helped facilitate the move, according to Upstate Medical.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com