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Syracuse University has not communicated with residents how their purchase of The Marshall apartment building will affect its operations next year, residents said.

In July, SU announced its purchase of The Marshall, the luxury apartment building that looms over Marshall Street. The university hopes to turn the building into student-only housing after this school year, it said in a statement.

Communication from the university and the building’s current management to residents has been limited, said junior and resident Vincenzo Hid Arida Suarez. The building’s management company sent one physical letter explaining that the change would not affect the 2021-22 school year. Before that, Hid Arida Suarez heard the news of SU’s plans through social media, he said.

“But that’s all they really told us,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “They didn’t really tell us anything else. Even if you further inquire they don’t know what’s going on, even people within The Marshall.”

SU spent $69.4 million on the eight-story, 168,000-square-foot building, according to city records. The building’s managing partner did not intend to sell before he was approached by the university, he told syracuse.com. Men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim was also a minority investor in the property, according to the article.

Morgan Sample | Design Editor

Hid Arida Suarez and other residents are concerned by the lack of communication from the university and the building’s management. It’s unclear if residents will be able to stay in their apartments next year. Hid Arida Suarez likes the building and location, and he said he wishes to stay. But he’s now worried about finding off-campus housing as fewer and fewer units become available over time.

“I would like to have more details regarding (staying) because the whole reason I decided to live here and pay nearly $2,000 is because I was going to invest in staying in one place for two years and just re-sign my lease,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “But the university coming in and buying this just adds an unexpected new issue because I put all this effort into moving in just for the possibility of me being kicked out to be on the table.”

Hid Arida Suarez has attempted to reach out to both the building’s management company and SU for more details but has not had his concerns addressed, he said.

“I’m hoping the university, for those of us that were intending to re-sign, allows us to, or at least give us priority for housing here,” he said.

SU is forming a task force of campus members — including students — to determine what housing in The Marshall will look like in the 2022-23 school year, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications. 

“We recognize and are mindful that students will be preparing for the on-campus housing selection process and off-campus housing leasing period over the next few months,” Scalese said. “We hope to finalize plans for student housing in The Marshall later this fall and communicate those plans with current and prospective residents just as soon as that happens.”

The task force will determine what will happen with current residents, what the role of staff in the Office of Student Living will be, the costs of housing and other important issues, Scalese said.

In a July news release, SU did not provide many details on how the building would be used going forward. The purchase was made in response to a set of recommendations from its housing review. The review process began in 2019, and committee members collected perspectives of more than 7,000 community members, according to the university.

Recommendations from the review include expanding the types of available housing, expanding community building initiatives, investing in South Campus and improving the guaranteed mortgage program for neighborhoods near the university.

The committee recommended SU provides more housing options for students by expanding the university’s apartment and suite-style units. The Marshall met many of the committee’s goals for university housing, such as better aligning on-campus housing with “student preferences,” according to the news release. 

The release notes that The Marshall housing would be intended for upper-level undergraduate students. Hid Arida Suarez is worried that SU may treat The Marshall like a dorm, with resident advisors on floors and more strict rules. SU has not determined if it will, Scalese said.

“I don’t want to be treated like a child. I’m going to be 21 coming into my senior year, I’m a grown adult, and I don’t want to be limited,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “Dorm policy like having an RA on my floor looking over me. It’s like they’re trying to treat us like children.”

The housing review also noted that South Campus is an attractive option for students. SU has been considering reducing or removing South Campus housing, even though there’s been disagreement among students. SU will explore options for additional housing in the location, according to the June news release. 

Even though he wants to stay at The Marshall, Hid Arida Suarez isn’t sure if he would if the university chooses to run it like a more traditional dorm.

“I would love to be in this space. Again, it’s a great building, and I understand why the university bought it. But if they are going to impose their dorm policies into an apartment complex, they’re really sorely mistaken about what that looks like,” he said.

Published on September 12, 2021 at 11:13 pm

Contact Nick: nickrobertson@dailyorange.com | @NickRobertsonSU