The Redhouse Arts Center and several companies celebrated a ribbon cutting Wednesday, for the newly remodeled City Center building in Syracuse. The project initially began when Redhouse wanted to relocate its main performing spaces into the old Sibley’s Department Store Building on Salina Street.
According to Jeremy Thurston, the president of the Hayner Hoyt construction company, it took about took ten years to fully redevelop the building. And as the project rolled along, he got a vision of the rest of the potential for the nearly quarter-million square-foot building.
Thurston says there's "quite a bit of space" still left to be filled. Including 20,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor, and a few spaces on the second through fourth floors ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 square feet.
"We’re about 70 percent occupied right now and we’re anxious and expect that probably, within the next 12 months, we hope to fill up the rest of the building,” said Thurston.
The Executive Director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Merike Treier, says the building enhances the city in other ways too.
“The investment made in City Center is a key element to how people experience Downtown Syracuse," said Treier. "It has created a sense of vibrancy on our main street. It has connected our Armory Square, Salina Street and our Southern Downtown neighborhoods. It has raised downtown’s profile as a destination to attract and retain talent thanks to a series of high profile tenant announcements.”
Tompkins Community Bank will be the first retail tenant moving in soon. CX Tech previously moved into the building from its former North Syracuse location. Other tenants include Huntington Ingalls Mission Technologies and TERACAI.
Hayner Hoyt financed $30 million dollars of the project.