Council committee hears plan to sell three city parcels for Rescue Mission mixed-use project

Syracuse City officials and representatives of the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse discussed a proposed purchase-and-sale agreement for three city-owned parcels on West Onondaga and Seymour Street that would allow the Rescue Mission to build an approximately $11 million mixed-use development with warehouse space, upper-floor offices and ground-floor retail, including a 3:15 shop storefront.

The proposal, described at an Economic Development Committee meeting, would pair the Rescue Mission’s adjoining property with three city parcels the city seized years ago for tax delinquency. City staff said the project was selected for a portion of state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding and that design work has included a CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) review.

Why it matters: The project aims to activate a long-vacant corner near the Near West Side and downtown, create entry-level warehouse jobs and consolidate some Rescue Mission operations downtown. Committee members pressed staff and the Rescue Mission on implementation details — security, funding timing, tax-exempt status, permitting and a single city point of contact — because the MOU under discussion is informal and the DRI funds are reimbursable and tied to state contracting and paperwork.

City staff described the proposal as a mixed-use building with a second-floor Rescue Mission office and first-floor retail, plus a warehouse area to process donated goods. “This is an exciting mixed use development they've proposed,” a city staff member identified in the meeting as Matt said. Eric, a city staff member coordinating the project, said the city helped design the building and that it went through the CPTED process to reduce opportunities for criminal activity. “The city has also been really involved in the actual design of the building. It's also gone through what's known as our CPTED process, that crime prevention through environmental design,” Eric said.

Dan Seberg, identified in the meeting as chief executive officer of the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse, said the mission has paid for off-duty city police and county sheriff patrols and hired them as security when needed. “I think last year, we spent just under $600,000 on both city police and county sheriffs to come and patrol, the area,” Seberg said. He said the Rescue Mission’s model for security has relied on off-duty sworn officers because private security firms cannot make arrests.

Financial and permitting details discussed

- Project budget: Seberg said the project began with a $7 million estimate and has risen to about $11,000,000 because of construction costs. (Source: Dan Seberg.) - State DRI funding: Staff said a $1,000,000 Downtown Revitalization Initiative award is part of the project’s funding package; the DRI award is a reimbursable state contract administered through Empire State Development. City staff said the state contract was with the Rescue Mission and funds are accessed after project completion and submission of required paperwork. - Tax-exempt status: City staff explained that final property-tax exemption determinations require a formal application and are reflected on the tax roll on Jan. 1 of the applicable year. Staff cautioned against guaranteeing exemption status now and provided analogies such as portions of Salt City Market and municipal industrial development agency projects. (No final exemption determination was recorded.) - Permitting and approvals: Staff reported zoning approval in April and a planning commission review in May. Building permit applications were submitted in the two weeks before the meeting; a subdivision that would include the city parcels is part of the permit and land-record process. Staff said they hoped to negotiate the purchase-and-sale agreement and execute it within about a month, but no final conveyance was recorded in the transcript.

Project program and local impacts

City and Rescue Mission speakers described programmatic elements and projected impacts. Seberg said the downtown warehouse operations would provide between 10 and 12 entry-level warehouse jobs downtown (with larger processing operations remaining at the Rescue Mission’s 60,000-square-foot warehouse on Henry Clay Boulevard in North Syracuse). He said the second floor would hold administrative offices and that the building would not include residential apartments. “There won't be any residential in that whole project,” Seberg said when asked.

Security, public-space management and coordination

Committee members raised concerns about activity on nearby Dickerson Street and asked how the project, the Rescue Mission and law enforcement would coordinate. City staff described a memorandum of understanding (MOU) drafted to codify coordination, signage, fencing and use of a block-party permit to extend the Rescue Mission’s authority over portions of Dickerson Street to enable enforcement as if that area were an extension of the campus. Staff said the city and Rescue Mission have coordinated with the Syracuse Police Department, the county sheriff’s office and programs such as the Friendly Faces program, which pairs officers and social-service caseworkers to engage people who gather in public spaces.

Staff responsibility and next steps

Committee members asked who would be the single city point of contact for follow-up if problems emerge; Michael Kalis, identified as commissioner for Neighborhood and Business Development, said communications were constant and that the city would formalize a single contact. Staff said the MOU is intended to reflect current practices but described it as an informal agreement rather than a binding condition of conveyance. Several council members asked for the finalized memorandum and for printed copies of the MOU.

Public engagement and schedule

Staff said a public hearing was held during the zoning review and noted outreach to neighborhood groups including the Southern Downtown Committee and the West Onondaga neighbors. Staff and Rescue Mission representatives said they had met with neighborhood stakeholders and Rescue Mission clients; Seberg said his clients favor accessible entry-level jobs but that housing requests remain a separate, longer-term conversation. The project team said the construction manager is ready to mobilize once property access is secured and that a ground-breaking could take place this year; staff cautioned that the railroad bridge activation and parapet redesign are on a separate schedule likely to occur next year and could overlap with the project’s later stages.

Action taken

The transcript does not record a final council vote to authorize a purchase-and-sale agreement or conveyance of the parcels. The MOU and the project were discussed and clarified during the committee meeting. The only recorded formal motion in the supplied transcript was a routine motion to adjourn, which passed without recorded dissent.

What remains unresolved

Key outstanding items recorded in the meeting transcript include a definitive tax-exemption determination (pending an exemption application), the exact DRI disbursement schedule (DRI is reimbursable after completion and submission of documents), final building permits and subdivision records, and execution of a purchase-and-sale agreement. Committee members also requested that the city name a single staff contact for follow-up and asked for final copies of the MOU.

Ending

City staff and Rescue Mission representatives said they would continue permitting and contract discussions with the goal of advancing the project. No final sale or conveyance was recorded in the provided transcript.