New tenants will soon move into the first of more than 600 units coming back online at two large and formerly troubled apartment complexes in Syracuse. The much-needed housing comes after three years of renovations and legal battles.
It was early 2025 when former Mayor Ben Walsh asked the state supreme court to remove Clear Investment Group as the owner of the former Skyline and Vincent Apartments for failing to make necessary repairs. The firm had bought the run-down complexes from Tim and Troy Green.
“We know it's been a long time. It's a big, big project," said Clear Investment CFO Razi Uddin. "We appreciate everybody being patient on this. There have been fits and starts. But I think ultimately our goal is to provide safe, habitable housing for the people of Syracuse.”
Three years after taking ownership, Uddin said they’re ready to lease more than 100 apartments at the Summit, an eight building 267-unit complex in the Outer Comstock neighborhood.
“We've done some window replacement. All of the units have got new flooring. And there's a lot of new appliances and so on and so forth," he said. "I think people are going to feel like, hey, I'm walking into a new unit that nobody's ever lived in.”
Most importantly, he said, boilers and all the piping have been replaced to address the lack of heat and hot water issues that have plagued both complexes.
At the Metropolitan on James Street, at least from the outside for the first time in a long time, there are signs of progress. Shrubs have been trimmed and there’s fresh mulch. The parking lots off Lodi St. that used to be filled with dumpsters are cleared out and re-striped.
But the property is still fenced off to keep out intruders. There's still plenty of work going on inside. One of the indications that residents could soon be moving in is blinds are in the windows.
Uddin said prospective residents and the city can rest assured that the 12-story 362-unit tower will be cared for.
“The number one thing we do when you come into a property is clear the maintenance requests and fix the immediate like problems," he said. "And this building is quite nuanced because of the size of it and some of the issues that we faced. But I don't think residents are going to feel as if they're sort of in the dark anymore.”
He said the first three floors are nearly finished and almost ready for occupancy. The remaining floors are scheduled to be completed over the next six months. Uddin declined to give exact renovation costs, only saying the total between both projects is between $10 and $15 million.
