[urban waterfront | a reaction]

The Syracuse Inner Harbor has a long and storied industrial past -- salt production, manufacturing, storage -- all the while remaining largely hidden from the public eye.  It was only within the last decade or so, aided by the city-initiated improvements to the immediate vicinity, that people have begun to take notice of this forgotten, beautiful waterfront property in the heart of the city.  After years of less-than-successful attempts to jump-start the creation of a meaningful urban neighborhood surrounding the water, prospects are looking brighter:  Three proposals were submitted to develop harbor land that has recently been turned over to the city.  Two weeks ago, these proposals were presented to the public -- this post is a reaction to those presentations.

Let me first preface this by offering up applause to the three development teams that stepped up to offer their visions for improving the Inner Harbor.  And, let me assure everyone involved, so that there are no hurt feelings or offense taken, that my comments are a review of the proposals for their urbanistic merits + potential to better the city and are in no way directed personally.

The land up for grabs around the harbor was sub-divided into 5 zones in which developers could pitch plans for any or all of them.  Of the three presented proposals, one was interested in a singe zone, while the other two went for the gold and desired all the available land.  I'll start with the more modest proposal before tackling the two larger ones.

The smallest of the three proposals sought to acquire the historic harbor maintenance building [pictured] and convert it into apartments.  While apartments are must for any development around the harbor to be truly successful as an urban neighborhood, this building is terribly suited for such a use.  Its long, low, transparent character would instead more successfully house a marketplace [think Boston's Quincey Market], a large retail tenant suited to such a space, or any other program that allows for constant public access.

 

A second proposal [by Hart Lyman] attempted to wow the audience with a promise to bring a Bass Pro Shops to the inner harbor.  There was little other substance to the proposal, as they said “other big names will always follow a Bass Pro,” and it was only briefly mentioned that housing and other uses would be integrated.  The Bass Pro would be located on the southwest side of the harbor, closing off Van Rensselear St – I imagine this is because they did not try hard enough to fit the required footprint within the area between Van Rensselear and the creekwalk.  The blocks are already absurdly large in the harbor’s vicinity; closing another street would be a huge detriment to the navigability and walkability of the area.

I’m not entirely familiar with the Bass Pro store or its intended market, but from what I gather, it does not typically draw from the urban market, nor would it contribute to a meaningful neighborhood; this location is appealing to them solely due to its proximity to this waterway and the entirety of the canal system.  If done well, I suppose it could be an interesting tourist draw, although I’d prefer a draw more along the lines of a Crate&Barrel or an IKEA, but I’m partial to well-designed furniture.

The potential major plus for this project is the design team that has been assembled, with Cook+Fox being the shining star.  When masterplanning something of this scale, there is a lot of potential to create a bland, uniform design aesthetic, rather than something varied and interesting.   I fully believe that, with Cook+Fox at the helm, the harbor wouldn’t suffer from an architectural standpoint.  The proposal did not show any renderings, however, so we cannot be entirely sure.

The third and final proposal [by COR] was by far the most developed of the bunch.  They presented a thoughtful plan to introduce additional streets to the grid, breaking up the large swath of land to the southwest into manageable blocks.  A dozen or so renderings gave a flavor of the building massings and design – the southwest portion [pictured above] being much stronger than the eastern and northern portions.  The southwest portion’s density allows for a true neighborhood to form with ground floor retail and plenty of housing.  Notably, the plan also calls for a satellite OCC “campus” to fill one of these blocks, infusing students into the neighborhood.  The downside of this portion of the plan being its architectural design – although the buildings show some interest, they are on the verge of being too uniform and overall bland, detracting from its feeling of urbanity in favor of a suburban apartment complex.  Ideally, each building would be designed with its own character, completely different than all the others.

The other portions of this plan leave a bit more to be desired.   On the northern side of the harbor [adjacent to the piers], a row of 3-story retail and office buildings would edge the promenade, but unfortunately would be pulled back from the street with a parking lot in front.  While parking would of course be a necessary component, placing it between the building and the street creates a streetfront that is very suburban in character.  Solar Street should have a strong urban edge in order to better connect to the existing Franklin Square neighborhood.  Same goes for the corner of Solar and Kirkpatrick -- corners are the most important sites in an urban neighborhood and ought to have a building to anchor them.  In this case, the diagonal walkway can and should remain to offer access to the harbor; the building design can respond accordingly.  I must say, though, that utilizing the harbor maintenance building to house community rowing facilities could be a winning idea -- having the energy of rowers in and out of the water could add a touch of "real" to the harbor, giving it a more dynamic feeling for residents and visitors alike.

Both this proposal and the Bass Pro proposal bring some interesting cards to the table.  The selection committee has recommend the COR plan, but it still needs to be reviewed and approved/denied by the mayor and the common council.  Perhaps, though, the harbor would be better off in the long run if multiple developers are allowed to dive in under the direction of a single masterplan?

I have some additional suggestions in the works -- look for a follow-up in the near future.