By Darron Wallace, Syracuse, N.Y., (NCC News) — The Temple Concord Synagogue has been sold by the congregation for $9 million.
The congregation of the 108-year-old place of worship sold the synagogue to Landmark Properties, a company based out of Athens, Georgia. The company describes itself as the “nation’s top developer of student apartments.”
This decision to sell the property was voted on and approved by the congregation earlier this week. Landmark Properties plans to turn the land into luxury apartments for Syracuse students.
This decision to sell the property has been met with mixed opinions from local residents.
“The building is falling apart, and they’ve sold it,” one Syracuse resident told NCC News. “There’s a reason why they sold it. If they were so passionate about the building and the history of the building and preserving this history, then they wouldn’t have sold it.”
But another resident values historical buildings in Syracuse. He says, “Destroying an old building since 1911 it’s been here. That speaks true to the nature of Syracuse itself.”
Other opinions are similarly split down the middle.
President of the CNY Preservation Association Grant Johnson told syracuse.com, “We are kind of keeping a close eye on this because we don’t know if the developer is going to attempt to tear down the building… it’s still well maintained. It’s a visual, cultural and architectural anchor to the corner.”
