Board approves use variance to allow office at former florist on East Calvin

The Syracuse City Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday approved a use variance allowing an office land use at 1115 East Calvin Street, a 912-square-foot former florist owned by the Greater Syracuse Land Bank.

The decision follows testimony from the Land Bank that repeated attempts to market the building for residential use failed and that demolition and new construction would be substantially more expensive than the property's projected resale value. "We've been unable to find any buyer willing to convert the existing building into a residence," said Luke Avery Doherty, a representative of the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corporation, also known as the Greater Syracuse Land Bank. He told the board demolition and a small two-story house would cost about $450,000 while post-construction value would be roughly $200,000.

Board members discussed site constraints, including the parcel's small size, unusual shape and heavy-traffic location adjacent to local cemeteries. In public comment, architect William Al Murphy Jr. urged caution, arguing the greenhouse and floral use have historic and community ties to Oakwood and Morningside cemeteries and that an office conversion would weaken that connection. "Use variances have a very high ladder to climb in order to be approved," Murphy said, adding the property's proximity to gravesheets and the greenhouse's character warrant careful consideration.

Neighbor and former owner Joseph Italiano objected to the office use, saying the change would alter neighborhood character and could lead to an erosion of zoning protections. The Land Bank's representative responded to concerns about the property's foreclosure history: the Land Bank acquired the parcel in January 2023, staff said, it attempted to negotiate a repurchase and offered financial assistance, and prior lawsuits contesting the foreclosure have been dismissed.

Before voting on the variance, the board reviewed the short environmental assessment form (short EAF). A board member moved for a negative declaration under the short EAF (finding no moderate-to-large environmental impacts); the motion passed by voice vote. Later, a board member moved to approve V-2026-13 to permit office use at 1115 East Calvin; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Board members noted standard conditions for use variances and said any future expansion of the use would require a separate variance and site-plan review.

The approval allows the Land Bank to complete a pending sale to an entity identified in the record as University Hill Apartments, contingent on the variance. The board recorded that two members had recused themselves earlier in the hearing due to conflicts.

Next steps: the variance is approved as recorded; any future expansions, changes of use or site alterations will require the applicant to return to the BZA for review and permit approvals.