Mayor Walsh Announces Call for Bids for Former SDC Site Demolition

Published on November 14, 2023

Demolition is next step in transforming the long-vacant site in to mixed-income housing

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the public bidding process for demolition of the former Syracuse Developmental Center site is now open. The City of Syracuse is seeking qualified construction demolition firms to clear the buildings, complete site remediation, and prepare for future construction.

“Demolition is a crucial step forward on the path toward getting this long vacant property back on the tax roll and into productive use,” said Mayor Walsh. “I thank Governor Hochul for providing critical state funding for the next phase of this transformative mixed-use project. This site is ideally suited to meet the growing need for quality mixed income housing and high-tech manufacturing space in Syracuse."

The City of Syracuse seized the 48-acre site at 800-02 South Wilbur in 2019 after about two decades of vacancy and tax delinquency, during which the property was vandalized and fell into significant disrepair. Although the city stabilized the site during the past four years, the existing buildings cannot be cost-effectively repurposed given significant remediation needs. In July, the Syracuse Common Council approved a comprehensive multi-unit plan for approximately 440 apartments and 60 to 85 townhouses on the property near the Rozamond Gifford Zoo.

To facilitate and accelerate the private sector investment and redevelopment of the site, the City is now soliciting bids from qualified contractors to undertake demolition/environmental remediation of the existing structures and grading of the site in the building demolition location. Upon completion of the demolition, other key infrastructure upgrades to water/sewer, roads, tree canopy, and lighting will be completed as a separate phase of the overall project.

A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. in the iLab Conference Room – City Hall Room 215 and contractors will be able to visit the site after the meeting. Demolition and environmental remediation work is anticipated to begin in early 2024. For more information about the bid, visit  https://goto.syr.gov/sdc-bid-notice.

Proposals will be received at the City of Syracuse Division of Purchase, City Hall Room 213, by 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.