Syracuse, N.Y. — Developers are proposing to build 88 market-rate apartments in an $18 million project that would be the first new building in Armory Square in 10 years.
Partnership Properties, JF Real Estate and the real estate finance firm Larew, Doyle & Associates are proposing to demolish a 280-car parking garage at 401 S. Clinton St. and build a six-story building in its place.
It would be the first new building in Armory Square since the 180-room Courtyard Syracuse Downtown at Armory Square opened in 2013.
The new building would have 3,000 square feet of ground level commercial space. The top five floors would contain 88 one- and two-bedroom and efficiency apartments. The building’s basement would serve as a parking garage with room for 90 vehicles.
John Funiciello, president of JF Real Estate, said all the apartments would be market-rate. Rents would be set when construction is completed, he said.
Funiciello, who bought the garage in 2006, said housing is a better use of the site because of the continuing strong demand for apartments downtown and in nearby Armory Square.
The garage is on the east side of South Clinton Street at the intersection with Walton Street, bordering the alleyway adjacent to Modern Malt and Sky Armory. Tenants of the proposed new building would be able to walk out of the building and visit any of Armory Square’s bars and restaurants within a minute’s walk.
“A project like this is exciting in and of itself, but having it in a premier location will add more life and energy to a neighborhood that is so rich with history and is beloved as a destination in downtown Syracuse,” Funiciello said.
Funiciello is a partner in four downtown buildings with a total of 180 apartments.
“Demand is there for sure,” he said. “We’re always full.”
Tony Fiorito, president of Partnership Properties, said the project will be a “significant transformation” of the site.
“Now is a perfect time to reimagine the property in a way that infuses new energy and life to Armory Square,” he said.
The building is being designed by in-Architects. The developers said they hope to break ground in the spring of 2024 on the project, which is subject to city approvals.
“We welcome the new investment into Armory Square and the replacement of a parking garage to make way for a more vibrant mix of uses, better activating the ground level street scape, and further expanding the role of downtown as a residential neighborhood,” Eric Ennis, deputy commissioner of business development for the city, said in a statement. “City review of project plans are in the beginning stages, with multiple steps in the approval process ahead.”
Fiorito said the developers plan to file an application with the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency for property, sales tax and mortgage recording tax exemptions.
The building would feature a ground-level courtyard and greenspace and a second-level outdoor courtyard overlooking Clinton Street.
The developers said the building’s ground-level commercial space will help “activate” the alleyway that leads to Sky Armory.
No commercial tenants have been signed up for the space, but a bar or restaurant would fit well into the location, Funiciello said.
“It’s a great spot,” he said. “It’s a corner space, and it’s going to have lots of glass.”
Commercial space in the ground level of the Clinton Street Garage has been vacant since Peppino’s Neapolitan pizzeria closed in 2020.
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