ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ

The city of Syracuse has announced a new housing strategy that is expected to result in the investment of millions of dollars in the Salt Springs neighborhood over the next 10 years. The comprehensive strategy was  earlier this week.

“I’m heartened by the investment that the city has pledged to make in the neighborhoods surrounding ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s campus,” said President Linda LeMura, who serves as a member of the city’s steering committee on housing. “This is an important next step in our ongoing commitment work to improve all aspects of the Salt Springs neighborhood.”

The city’s announcement was covered in , which noted that the plan “…breaks with tradition by spending millions of dollars in middle-income neighborhoods rather than investing only in the city’s most distressed areas.” The article states that the city plans to create a new agency, the Syracuse Housing Trust, that would raise up to $25 million by the end of 2024 to subsidize housing improvements in the Salt Springs neighborhood over the next decade.”

In a prepared statement, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said, “It challenges us … to make difficult and disruptive choices to use the limited resources we have available in ways that will make more Syracuse neighborhoods attractive for new residents and private investment.”

The announcement by the city was informed by the ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ Area Neighborhood Development Strategy (LANDS), a partnership launched in 2021 between the College, the City of Syracuse and the Town of DeWitt. The LANDS initiative included a survey sent to approximately 3,800 residents living in the area bounded by Erie Boulevard East on the north and east sides, East Genesee on the south side, and Salt Springs Road and Seeley Road on the west side. Topics covered in the survey included housing, transportation, infrastructure, municipal services, economic development and overall quality of life.

The College has made significant investments in the neighborhood over the years. For many years, ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s Guaranteed Mortgage Plan has assisted full-time employees in purchasing homes in the neighborhood by eliminating the need for a down payment and private mortgage insurance. More recently, the College has purchased approximately 40 off-campus houses for student use, reconfigured the ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ Plaza to house the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation, and soon will refurbish the McNeil Firehouse to house a cafe and community space.