Syracuse nears deal to relocate police, fire headquarters away from downtown

Syracuse, N.Y. — City of Syracuse officials are ready to move forward with plans to take police and fire department headquarters out of downtown.

Syracuse Common Councilors will vote Dec. 18 on a request from Mayor Ben Walsh to finalize a lease agreement with a developer that will convert a vacant six-story factory on the city’s west side into a new public safety building.

If approved by the council, the city’s current public safety building will move from its downtown home since 1964 at 511 S. State Street to a vacant factory at 1153 W. Fayette St. The plant was originally built in the 1920s to manufacture automotive and railway parts. Some small retail tenants had occupied parts of the first floor in recent years, but the bulk of the facility has been dormant for decades.

City officials first publicly discussed the project last June, saying the downtown site has deteriorated beyond repair, but they also said more discussion with the developer of the West Fayette Street site needed to take place. Then last month, the Walsh administration asked the council to consider authorizing a lease so the project construction work could start and be finished in time for a move by the fourth quarter of 2025.

On Tuesday, councilors discussed the project with the police and fire chiefs, the developer and other city officials during a Public Safety Committee meeting.

The city’s lease payments over 19 years would total about $41.2 million, which is about the same cost estimated if the city were to pursue a renovation of the existing public safety building, said Matt Oja, Syracuse’s assessment commissioner. But renovations at the current site would also require the city to find interim space for the police and fire departments.

The West Fayette Street site also would allow the police department to relocate its patrol and transportation divisions from a building the city owns on Erie Boulevard East. The city’s goal is to eventually sell the downtown and the Erie Boulevard properties, which Oja said could be attractive to private developers and bring properties back on the tax rolls.

“I’d like to think this is better than revenue neutral,” Oja said.

Another cost that would go away is a roughly $1.7 million annual maintenance payment the city makes to Onondaga County for the South State Street building, which was also used as county jail space before a federal court ordered it to close in the 1980s because of inhumane conditions. The city owns 61% of the building while the county owns the rest, with a maintenance agreement in place that was reached decades ago.

“We own 61% and we pay rent on the entirety, as if we were the tenant,” Oja said.

Syracuse public safety officials are looking for an alternative to the downtown Public Safety Building, which opened in 1964.

Syracuse Chief Administrative Officer Frank Caliva said talks would begin in January with the county about the city’s plans to divest itself of the South State Street property.

Several councilors have toured that site in recent weeks, and some spoke Tuesday about the rough conditions, which include exposed technology wiring throughout, floors that are falling apart and areas that are now off limits due to poor air quality.

“It was a very sad tour,” Councilor Rita Paniagua said. “I mean, the premises are horrible.”

A development team assembled by Joe Gehm, of the Lahinch Group, first pitched the West Fayette Street site to city officials as a place to house office employees who previously worked in the City Hall Commons building that the city is selling to a private developer on East Washington Street. The city selected a different site downtown for those workers about a year ago, but that process opened up talks about making the West Fayette Street factory into the future public safety building.

Gehm has considerable experience with renovating historic commercial properties, and unlike the city, he’ll be able to access historic preservation tax credits to lower construction costs. Other area projects he’s completed include the Meaker Building on Erie Boulevard West that now houses Home HeadQuarters; the former Addis department store on Salina Street and the former General Ice Cream factory on Wilkinson Street where Middle Ages Brewery operates.

Gehm said his team is still working on plans and price estimates, but he expects the project will cost about $25 million to $30 million to complete. One condition on the lease terms is that the project will secure at least $2 million in state and federal grant support, which city officials are working to line up. So far, a Restore New York grant worth $600,000 is in hand. The final rental rate would go up or down depending on how much grant funding is secured.

Councilor Chol Majok, Public Safety Committee chair, asked police officials about concerns that their headquarters will be moving out the geographic center of the city, which could make it harder or less desirable for some residents to visit.

While a downtown location is preferrable, there is no practical site in that area available, Chief Joe Cecile said. But the West Fayette Street property is not far from downtown, and it’s near the Public Service Learning Academy at Fowler High School, which presents an opportunity to work with students who are interested in public safety careers. Cecile also believes a renovated site with 24-hour police presence will benefit that area of the city, which has been challenged by crime and poverty.

“I believe this could change those challenges in that neighborhood,” he said. “I think we have to look at the positives.”

After Tuesday’s committee meeting, Majok said he plans to bring the lease request to the council for a vote at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 18. He intends to vote in support of the plan largely because he wants police and fire employees to have a modern facility.

“The condition of the building down there is atrocious,” he said of the South State Street building. “And these are people risking their lives for us. This is the least we can do for them.”

Building J — Syracuse officials are thinking about moving the city's police and fire headquarters to this century-old factory built by the Lipe-Rollway Company.

City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook.