As of mid-February, 2026, roughly 1,400 apartment units at three complexes in Syracuse are offline or unfit for habitation. It's contributing to a severe housing shortage, at a time when homelessness has shot up by 60 percent over the last six years.
Outside the former Skyline apartments on James and Lodi Streets, the highrise of potential apartments still sits empty. Workers move in and off the site with generators running. but city officials say it has been a slow and frustrating process.
“We've reached an agreement with the owners in court to be able to ensure that Skyline specifically comes back online within a certain timeline," said Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development Michael Collins.
Clear Investment group, based in Chicago, took ownership of the building in mid-2023, and forced all residents to move out. The company promised to renovate all 360 units under a new name, The Metropolitan. Since then, small fires and a broken fire-suppression system have hampered progress. A court ruling has ordered the owner to complete at least some units and start moving residents back in by April 30.
"We have not yet had the proper progress on that, and we're working with the owners to find a way to make sure that does happen," said Collins.
Clear Investment also owns the sprawling former Vincent apartments in the Outer Comstock neighborhood where eight buildings containing more than 260 units are also under rennovation.
“The gates are open, they’re usually closed to keep trespassers out," said Collins. "I guess that’s an indication that there’s workers on the scene.”
Clear Investment has rebranded The Vincent as The Summit, which is not part of the Skyline litigation. The Onondaga Volunteer Lawyers Project estimated an average of 14,000 people were evicted from their homes in Syracuse last year, making it more urgent to get those 620 more affordable apartment units at both complexes up and running.
“When you're in a market where supply doesn't meet demand, one would think that the economics would suggest to get those units online as fast as possible," said Collins, then added that, "We do believe that the market supports that, and we've seen it from tons of other developers that have projects underway right now.”
Clear Investment did not return our request for comment.
Residents still living at Nob Hill hang on as the complex falls further into disrepair
At Syracuse's largest apartment complex along the city's southern edge there are another 760 housing units on the verge of condemnation.
There, layers of snow covers sidewalks and slippery parking lots. It's the first sign that management has ignored ongoing needs.
Leaving their apartment, roommates Storm Negron and Brian Fassinger were seeking shelter after they said their heater stopped working inside the apartment while temperatures outside fell well below freezing.
They had originally tried to overcome it with a portable heater, but learned the first night that, "if we don't have a space heater on all day, we will feel our fingertips getting cold. We'll feel our toes getting cold," said Negron.
Their plumbing is broken, too. Hot water comes out scalding, without cold water to balance the temperature. They can't take a bath because the drains are clogged, he said. And overhead their bathroom, water drips from the neighbor's pipes above.
When they call maintenance, “We just hit the answering machine each time no one ever comes up," said Negron. And when they went to the front office, "They just keep telling me, Sooner or later, someone will come and help you with your tub. And it's been going on for a while. they tell us, we're gonna put a work order in, but we don't really know when they'll be here to do anything for you.”
The owners at Nob Hill, LLC did not answer WAER's questions either.
“Our legal team has taken them to court and has an agreement from the judge and from the owners to correct the violations, but as we've seen, that has not happened yet," said Syracuse Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development Michael Collins.
Meanwhile, the conditions grow increasingly dangerous for Negron and his neighbors at Nob Hill.
“My door would not open. They had to pry the door open from the outside to get in to us," Negron shared. "With a crowbar," Fassinger added.
With each passing day, they've noticed squatters take over the vacant units seeking shelter from Syracuse's brutal winter.
A sign on the giant complex's front door states, "Please do not shut these doors. You can get in but you can’t get out.”
That, alone, is in direct violation of the New York Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
