Onondaga County Lawmakers are sharing their opinions before a key economic development vote next week by the Manlius Town Board that could threaten the preservation of a historic mansion. County Executive Ryan McMahon says a developer wants a zone change to turn the Wellington House into a retail development, but he doesn’t support that.
“Not all development makes sense for every community depending on how you do it and certainly we don’t believe that that development whether any level of retail would make sense. You have a Towne Center right here, you have traffic issues as is, let alone the historical asset this property is. You can’t rebuild those buildings anymore.”
The property is located directly across from Fayetteville Towne Center. The current owner of more than 40 years, Tom Thomas has the discretion to sell the Wellington House now zoned as residential. What happens next is partially up to him. County Legislator Kevin Holmquist says it is important that residents voice all concerns since they have the potential to influence the developer to move forward or not.
“This is not something we’d normally do, it’s an exception because of the unique circumstance of it being such a historic location.”
Residents have made several calls to County Executive McMahon expressing their concerns for a mansion that has been a gathering spot for several events over the years. The Manlius Town Board decide whether or not to advance the zoning change request to the planning board at a public meeting Wednesday, April 10th at 6 PM.
