Syracuse SURA board approves three funding resolutions to move city ARPA and redevelopment money before fiscal year end

The Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency (SURA) board voted to approve three interrelated resolutions that allow SURA to accept and administer city funds for housing redevelopment and ARPA-funded programs and to enter a funding agreement with Home Headquarters for redevelopment at 1725 South Salina Street.

The measures approved were resolution 3,466, authorizing SURA to accept $500,000 from the City of Syracuse to support redevelopment of 1725 South Salina Street in collaboration with Home Headquarters; resolution 3,467, authorizing a funding agreement between SURA and Home Headquarters for that redevelopment; and resolution 3,468, authorizing SURA to accept and act as fiscal agent for roughly $7.9 million in city ARPA projects with language amended in the meeting to permit an amount not to exceed $8.5 million and to explicitly reference the urban forest master plan and additional commercial corridor funds. All three measures were moved, seconded and carried by voice vote during the meeting.

Why it matters: the requests respond to special-object line items in the city’s fiscal year 24–25 budget and to timing constraints tied to federal ARPA spend-down deadlines. Board members said routing these funds through SURA would let projects that currently face timing or contracting delays continue without being constrained by the city’s annual budget year, but that council approval, corporate counsel review and clear return/clawback terms are required before any funds move.

Discussion and conditions Michelle Smanski, deputy commissioner of neighborhood development, explained the package and identified three common situations prompting the transfer: executed contracts needing a no-cost extension past the fiscal year, site-specific redevelopment commitments awaiting other fund closings (for example related to DRI funding), and council-authorized ARPA commitments that currently function as part of other grant matches. Smanski said the Home Headquarters project at 1725 South Salina Street is not underway and would await confirmation that the funds can flow for that purpose, and that the property is a six-unit SMC property currently not occupied.

Board members repeatedly raised two implementation concerns: SURA’s administrative capacity to manage multiple, sometimes site-specific projects; and the need for precise terms ensuring the city does not lose oversight of where funds are spent. The board added conditions before approving resolution 3,468: (1) incorporation of standard SURA provisions requiring counsel review and approval of any resulting agreements, (2) language authorizing SURA to enter into a contract with the city if necessary, (3) a not-to-exceed figure of $8.5 million for the ARPA fiscal-agent request, and (4) a planning assumption about the federal Treasury spend-down deadline (12/31/2026) to guide timeframes for return or reallocation if projects do not expend allocated funds on schedule. Board members asked staff to pursue a draft agreement showing clawback/return mechanisms and staffing/financial controls so the council could review and consent prior to any transfer.

Specific items described in the meeting - Resolution 3,466: $500,000 to SURA to be routed to Home Headquarters for redevelopment of 1725 South Salina Street. Smanski said this special-object appropriation originated in the common council’s FY24–25 budget and that SURA’s resolution is intended to memorialize SURA’s willingness to enter the funding agreement with Home Headquarters.

- Resolution 3,467: companion funding agreement enabling SURA and Home Headquarters to execute the redevelopment work at 1725 South Salina Street. The board approved the agreement contingent on the approval process described above.

- Resolution 3,468: authorization for SURA to accept approximately $7.9 million (amended in the meeting to a not-to-exceed $8.5 million) from the City of Syracuse to act as the city’s fiscal agent for multiple ARPA-related uses, including infill housing, lead-hazard abatement, the Children’s Housing Center, community broadband programming, community violence intervention programming, the urban forest master plan, and a small portion of commercial corridor funds. Smanski said these funds frequently correspond to contracts that need extensions or to projects where state or other funding lags have slowed project closeout; the SURA transfer would be a mechanism to preserve the city’s ability to spend the dollars for their originally authorized purposes.

Votes and next steps All three resolutions were approved by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tallies provided in the transcript. Staff said a legislative request to the common council is scheduled for the June 9 agenda and that final agreements would be drafted and brought back to counsel and to SURA as part of the normal approval process. Board members instructed staff to draft provisions addressing return/clawback conditions, specify timeframes tied to the Treasury/ARPA deadline, and identify any contract assignments from the city to SURA that would be necessary to execute the work.

Limitations and outstanding items Board members requested confirmation from corporation counsel about the mechanism for returning unused funds or reallocating them within the authorized project buckets. They also noted SURA’s limited administrative capacity and asked staff to propose additional accounting or staffing support, potentially including outside accounting services or shared staffing with the finance department. The board approved the resolutions subject to the conditions noted above and to further review and written agreements to follow.

The board adjourned after the actions; no other items were taken up at that meeting.