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UPDATE: This story was updated at 7:21 p.m. on August 15, 2024.

Syracuse University is urging the Syracuse City Common Council to consider a “compromise” in the debate surrounding whether the city will recognize 727 Comstock Ave., a former SU fraternity house, as a local protected site.

The 119-year-old mansion is a source of contention between the local community and the university, which hopes to demolish the structure and use the lot to construct a new residence hall. In a meeting with the council’s economic development committee Thursday, SU lawyer Gregory Faucher said the university would be willing to demolish only the modern additions to the building while keeping its original structure.

“We would agree to a designation that protected the original building footprint and the front yard, so that the viewshed from Comstock is protected,” Faucher said. “You will still see from the road what you see today.”

Throughout Faucher’s remarks, 2nd District Councilor Patrick Hogan urged the university to renovate and refurbish the property, which has been unoccupied since 2022 and has structurally deteriorated over its century-long history. SU claims it would cost around $10 million to make the structure occupiable, Faucher said.

On May 17, SU submitted an application to the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board requesting permission to demolish the vacant property and use the lot for a proposed 703-bedroom, four-to-six story student residence hall.

In response to SU’s application, SLPB motioned unanimously to recognize the property as a local protected site during a June 20 meeting. The motion then went to the Syracuse City Planning Commission, which also voted in favor of the designation on July 29. According to city zoning law, the SCPC’s recommendation will go to the Common Council for a final decision.

If the Syracuse City Common Council maintains the SCPC’s recommendation, SU may need to alter its plans for demolition and construction. The residence hall, which has not been approved for construction yet, is one of three current projects by the university to expand on-campus housing.

The property, constructed in 1905, was occupied by “prominent” local attorney Charles Estabrook before he and his wife sold the home to the Zeta Psi fraternity in 1924, according to SU’s Demolition of Non-Landmarked Historic Properties application. Zeta Psi used the house until the chapter’s closure in 2007, but the fraternity maintained ownership of the property and leased it to other on-campus Greek organizations.

Zeta Psi sold the property to the university in 2022 for $3.14 million. At the time, an SU spokesperson told The Daily Orange that the university had not determined what it planned to do with the land but believed it would support SU’s Campus Framework, the university’s 20-year infrastructure development roadmap.

During the SCPC’s July 29 meeting, several commissioners and attendees, including City Auditor Alexander Marion, shared their thoughts on the property.

“We have the capacity to breathe new life into these old structures. It is simply a question of will,” said Marion, who spoke in favor of the protected designation.

SU now hopes to use the lot for a five-story wing of the residence hall with an access point on Comstock Avenue, Daniel Lee, a principal architect at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, said during the July 29 meeting. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson prepared the site plan and elevation plan for the residence hall proposal application.

SLPB defines a protected site as “buildings, structures, sites, landscapes or objects that are linked to people or events of significance to the city.” Currently, Syracuse landmarks such as the historic City Hall and Landmark Theatre hold this distinction, according to SLPB’s website. Protected sites require a multi-step review process to be considered for demolition, with city zoning laws requiring the applicant to obtain a “certificate of appropriateness” or an “economic hardship appeal.”

In July’s meeting, university representatives argued that the mansion has deteriorated to the point that it has lost its historic integrity, claiming that only 10% of the property’s original structure remains intact. SU presenters demonstrated evidence of structural concerns throughout the home, such as images and physical samples of water damage, as well as wood rot.

To assess the condition of the mansion’s physical exterior, SU contracted with Bell & Spina Architects-Planners PC, a local architecture firm specializing in building restoration. The group determined that the structure and its surrounding area had been “substantially altered” since its construction, resulting in a loss of architectural integrity, according to SU’s designation opposition letter from July 23.

“Simply put, the property has substantially changed and deteriorated over the years to such an extent that it no longer retains historic integrity or context. It does not and cannot show significance,” the letter reads. “What once was is no more.”

Many of the home’s original features have also since been replaced, representatives added. Bell & Spina President Douglas Arena said the extensive damage and the modern replacements have left only “parts and pieces” of the mansion’s historic structure.

Kate Auwaerter, preservation planner for the city of Syracuse and SLPB member, said the board believes the original materials and setting of the house that remain are enough to communicate historic significance.

According to criteria listed on the SLPB’s website, which is from city zoning law, condition is not listed as one of the five criteria to obtain protected site designation.

Just two days ahead of SLPB’s initial June 20 vote, SU canceled contracts with two local architecture firms that employ members of the board — citing “conflicts of interest,” syracuse.com reported on July 31. The university will reportedly no longer consider the firms Holmes King Kallquist & Associates and Ashley McGraw Architects for future architectural projects over the next 10 years.

On the day before, two Holmes King Kallquist representatives told syracuse.com that SU did not bring up the conflict of interest over the 35 years its firm’s employees have sat on the board. During the July 29 meeting, former SLPB Chair Donald Radke referred to the university’s actions as “intimidation tactics.”

“The fact that there’s two local architectural firms whose members sit on the board and their firms have been sent letters by the university, canceling their contracts, saying that they can’t do business with them for the next 10 years, that’s shameful,” Radke said.

In a statement sent to The D.O. on July 31, an SU spokesperson wrote that the SLPB members were employed by firms working on university projects but did not disclose their potential conflicts of interest. Once the university brought these conflicts forward, the individuals did not recuse themselves from voting on SU-related matters, according to the spokesperson.

“Syracuse University is committed to integrity in all aspects of our operations, including disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and recusal from decision making when a conflict of interest exists,” the statement reads. “We have the same expectation from the many firms and vendors with whom we work.”

In total, seven community members delivered remarks to the commission in favor of granting the designation to the property at the July 29 hearing, and SCPC received 10 additional letters supporting its designation, which are all publicly available. No attendees spoke in opposition.

The commission received two letters of opposition, one from SU and another from Stanley Gorski, a member of Zeta Psi’s national board of trustees.

SCPC members also briefly discussed a project overview and re-subdivision plan for SU’s proposed residence hall, though the conversation was cut short due to time constraints.

The commission did not make a decision regarding the university’s residence hall project proposal. It will not do so until all city department proposal reviews and 727 Comstock Ave. designation proceedings have concluded, said Jake Dishaw, the city’s deputy commissioner of code enforcement and zoning administration.

Commissioners said they will return to discussion on the proposed residence hall. SCPC’s next meeting will be on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers.

SCPC’s recommendation for 727 Comstock Ave. will now go to a vote in the Common Council, which has the power to determine whether a site receives the protected designation. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 3 at 12 p.m.

Published on July 31, 2024 at 8:02 pm