The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Syracuse. (Mary M. Jones)
A little divine intervention just might save downtown Syracuse.
That’s the vision of several downtown clergy who have partnered to advocate for economic and community development in the heart of the city.
“We’re not developers by calling — we’re not going to make money. We’re in this for the community,” said Andrew McTyre, pastor at Park Central Presbyterian on East Fayette Street. “We don’t have a profit to make other than a better community.”
McTyre is one of the three downtown clergy whose regular meetings have led to coordinated efforts to revive the city’s heart. For that work, the clergy members have created two organizations — the Cathedral Square Development Corporation and Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association. They seek to resurrect vacant buildings, serve the poor and needy, shepherd more people into the city and create abundant life downtown. And they work towards these goals through a unique partnership between non-profits, business owners, the city and developers.
Monsignor Neal Quartier, rector at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, was the driving force behind the mission. “As a Catholic, our mission is to reach out and serve all members of the community,” Quartier explained.
The downtown area already has a population of the homeless and the poor drawn to some of the services offered by the Cathedral and other churches in the area. Both the Samaritan Center and the Amaus Health Clinic are hosted by downtown churches. So the goal is to welcome more affluent newcomers without ignoring the needy.
“We want to breathe life into the neighborhood without marginalizing the vulnerable who are already a part of it,” said Dr. Lynne Satterly, a member of the Cathedral and founding director of the Amaus Health Clinic. The Amaus clinic provides primary health care to the uninsured.
The clergy members’ visionary work wins praise from city officials and other downtown boosters. Ben Walsh, deputy commissioner of business and community development, calls the effort “unique and exciting.” Added Walsh: “I’ve been intrigued by the partnership between the church and the city. You don’t see it often.”
At the Downtown Committee, Merike Treier, deputy director, agrees. The Downtown Committee is a private, non-profit that works to improve downtown. Its members welcome the spirit and the works of the clergy members’ groups, said Treier. In the clergy’s groups, she said, “There are a lot of motivated individuals.”
The clergy members founded their two redevelopment organizations, the Cathedral Square Development Corporation and Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association, in May 2009. The development corporation includes the major property owners in the area — churches and non-profits. It seeks to fund projects to recycle vacant buildings.
The Neighborhood Association allows everyone from downtown residents, business owners and non-profit leaders to have a voice in the community vision. Originally it had only seven organizations. Today that number has nearly doubled. Among the members are the YMCA and Onondaga Historical Association
The area of the neighborhood association includes Columbus Circle near the county courthouse. The area is bordered by Fayette, Warren, Madison, and Townsend streets.
To attract newcomers, the clergy members and their redevelopment groups also are emphasizing the arts, encouraging new business ventures and creating new, affordable housing.
The arts draws crowds to the Everson Museum and OnCenter nearby. Plans for the redevelopment also call for gallery space and other retail businesses.
Among those celebrating the churches’ investment in downtown revival is Anthony Catsimatides, who owns Open Atelier Architects and also serves as the Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association president. He bought and renovated the building at 451 S. Warren St. last August and moved his firm into the second floor. Eventually, he said, he wants to rent to a retail business on the first level.
“I think we’re going to see a surge of businesses coming downtown,” said Catsimatides.
On affordable housing to attract newcomers, Monsignor Quartier of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception cites conversion of the vacant Cathedral School into apartments. The plan, said Quartier, is to keep the prices low enough for young professionals to afford them.
That would also generate more income for the city, said Quartier. As church property, the school has been tax exempt. Once it becomes apartments, it will be taxed.
Eventually Quartier and others hope to attract around 5,000 people to downtown living. That threshold makes getting a supermarket downtown a viable option, according to business consultants.
“Our goal,” Monsignor Quartier said, “is to create a neighborhood that reaches out.”
(Paul Brockwell Jr. is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
-30-
