Walsh to deliver State of the City message Jan. 18 at City Center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh will deliver the 2024 State of the City address on Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at City Center in downtown Syracuse.

Walsh will give his speech in a still vacant part of City Center, so City Center will have signage to direct attendees to the proper section, Walsh’s office tells CNYBJ in an email.

The mayor’s State of the City address, an annual report from the city’s mayor to the Syracuse Common Council, is required by the Syracuse charter, per Walsh’s office.

Walsh’s other addresses have been at the PSLA at Fowler High School, SUNY Upstate Medical University, the Salt City Market, JMA Wireless, Corcoran High School, and the Red House.

“Syracuse is at the center of our region and of our growth. City Center is a metaphor for what is happening in our community. Reborn on a once thriving site for theater and shopping, City Center and its stunning courtyard is generating excitement about what is possible in a growing Syracuse,” Walsh said in a news release. “In the heart of downtown along Syracuse’s main street, City Center is the right location to reflect on our progress and to outline our plans for the future.”

The Hayner Hoyt Corporation developed the renovated mixed-use retail and office building on the concrete and steel frame of the former Sibley’s, a long vacant department store on Salina Street.

Walsh presented his 2019 State of the City address at the pre-renovated City Center in the Red House, the regional theater located in space that was renovated in the first phase of work on City Center. In that address, his second, Walsh unveiled the Syracuse Surge, the city’s strategy for “inclusive growth in the New Economy.” 

WCNY Public Broadcasting plans to broadcast the State of the City message, Walsh’s office noted.