BAILEE TUCKER: THE CITY OF SYRACUSE HAS LOST TWO OF ITS MAJOR HOTELS WITH THE SHERATON AND CROWNE PLAZA SET TO CONVERT INTO RESIDENTIAL HOUSING
ZACHARY PRIEHS: BUT TODAY COUNTY EXECUTIVE RYAN MCMAHON ANNOUNCING PLANS TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A NEW HOTEL DOWNTOWN…OUR JONATHAN KINANE IS DOWN ON HARRISON STREET AND HAS MORE. JONATHAN?
JONATHAN KINANE: THAT’S RIGHT GUYS, THIS PARKING LOT RIGHT BEHIND ME WILL BE THE SITE OF SYRACUSE’S NEWEST HOTEL
RYAN MCMAHON: “THE ONE AREA WHERE WE ARE BEHIND THE BALL AND EVERYONE AGREES ON IS HOTEL INVENTORY.”
KINANE: THE LOSS OF NEARLY FIVE HUNDRED HOTEL ROOMS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS HASN’T DONE ANYTHING TO HELP THAT…BUT TODAY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE ANNOUNCED A PLAN TO BRING A HOTEL TO THIS COUNTY-OWNED PARKING LOT ON HARRISON STREET TO HELP COMBAT THE PROBLEM
MCMAHON: “WE NEED ROOMS. WE NEED THEM NOW. SO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LEGISLATURE I’M GONNA BE SENDING LEGISLATION TO THEM CREATING A HOTEL INITIATIVE.”
KINANE: THE PROPOSAL WOULD SWEETEN THE DEAL FOR DEVELOPERS BY OFFERING FOUR MILLION DOLLARS CREATED BY THE ROOM OCCUPANCY TAX ALONG WITH GRANTS RANGING FROM 50 TO 750 THOUSAND DOLLARS…AND WHILE THIS PROPOSAL HAS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE, IT WILL ALSO HELP IN THE SHORT TERM TOO
FRANK MALFITANO: “THE PROPOSAL WOULD SWEETEN THE DEAL FOR DEVELOPERS BY OFFERING FOUR MILLION DOLLARS CREATED BY THE ROOM OCCUPANCY TAX ALONG WITH GRANTS RANGING FROM 50 TO 750 THOUSAND DOLLARS…AND WHILE THIS PROPOSAL HAS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE, IT WILL ALSO HELP IN THE SHORT TERM TOO”
KINANE: AND WHAT ABOUT THE LONG TERM? THE MICRON ANGLE? THE SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURER WILL BRING AN ESTIMATED 50-THOUSAND HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS EACH YEAR CREATING A DEMAND NOT SEEN SINCE CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING LEFT TOWN IN 2004.
DANNY LIEDKA: “YOU SAW THE IMPACT WHEN THEY WENT AWAY. YOU TALK ABOUT PLUGGING A BIG HOLE…50,000 ROOM NIGHTS IS SIGNIFICANT”
KINANE: THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE SAID HE EXPECTS THIS TO BE ABOUT A 200 ROOM HOTEL AND THE HOPE IS THE HOTEL WILL SYRACUSE MORE COMPETITIVE WHEN IT COMES TO HOSTING CONVENTIONS AND MAYBE EVEN NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES…EXPECT THE CONTRACT AND BIDDING PROCESS TO MOVE QUICKLY…BACK TO YOU GUYS
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — The hotel industry in Syracuse is getting a much-needed boost.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced a plan to build a new hotel in the county-owned parking lot next to the Everson Museum of Art on Harrison Street. The proposed hotel would have 200 rooms and offer easy access to the War Memorial and OnCenter.
“We need rooms,” McMahon said. “We need them now. So in partnership with the legislature, I’m going to be sending legislation to them creating a hotel initiative.”
The plan helps offset the loss of nearly 500 hotel rooms due to the Crowne Plaza and Sheraton each being converted to residential housing. With interest rates and inflation still high, the county is offering incentives to potential developers including $4 million raised from its room occupancy tax.
“The one area where we are behind the ball and everyone agrees on is hotel inventory,” McMahon said.
McMahon said the loss of hotel space has made Syracuse less competitive when it comes to hosting conventions and events like regionals for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The city also needs more space for the events it already hosts.
“To have big tent-pole events like Dome games or Dome concerts or Jazz Fest or amphitheater concerts, we need places to accommodate them,” said Frank Malfitano, the president of Syracuse Jazz Fest. “I think this is a good first step.”
In the long term, Micron is expected to create 50,000 hotel bookings each year, creating a demand not felt since Carrier left Syracuse in 2004.
“We saw the impact when (Carrier) went away,” said Danny Liedka, CEO of Visit Syracuse. “The demand Micron will create will plug a big hole.”
McMahon said he expects the contracting process to move quickly. The county is looking to issue requests for proposals within the next two months. After that, McMahon expects construction to begin soon after.
