An energetic and packed news conference marked the beginning of a business venture for some Syracusans, as investors talked about creating an arts and technology district on Syracuse's West Side. .
Maryalice Smothers from the West Side Initiative Board says for those who live on Syracuse's Westside it brings real hope. "This neighborhood has been overlooked for so long. People have come in and made promises, or just come in and never talked to us and it wasn't what we wanted." says Smothers.
Syracuse University, the City of Syracuse, and various other entrepreneurs and investors want to change that. They're funding a project that will cost more than $50 million before it's all said and done. The goal is to create an arts, design and technology quarter on the city's West Side.
John Cannon has lived on the Westside for nearly 3 decades. He says it was beautiful when he moved in, but he's watched his neighborhood succumb to poverty and crime. "You could leave your car doors unlocked and your house unlocked, but you better not now." Cannon says dramatic changes began in the 90's when all the business on the Westside shut down or packed up and went elsewhere.
This ambitious $50 million project could bring business back. If the project goes through as planned the face of the West Side will be completely changed. The Case Supply Warehouse, the empty Fleischmann's lot and the Lincoln Supply Building which are all located on Wyoming Street will be home to new condominiums and commercial businesses. One of the buildings will house a new WCNY Broadcast and Education Center. A "horseshoe" of 50 new and renovated homes will surround the facility. Most importantly for Cannon and others on the West Side the project is slated to create more than one thousand jobs within the next five years. If grant money comes in as expected the project should begin next fall.
