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Development group Opus Development Co. will tear down the Collegian Hotel & Suites near Genesee Street and S. Crouse Avenue to build a 145-unit student housing apartment building. This comes after the Syracuse Planning Commission approved its demolition plan last week.

The planned apartment complex, half a mile north of Syracuse University’s campus and one mile north of SUNY ESF’s campus, is independent from both schools.

Dean Newins, president and CEO of Opus AE Group, and Wendy Marsh, an Opus attorney, said during the planning commission’s meeting on Feb. 21 that Opus has been working on the project with the city planning commission since 2021.

In 2018, the Scholar Hotel Group bought the hotel, formerly called the Genesee Grande, for $16.6 million and renamed it as the Collegian Hotel & Suites in 2021. The Genesee Grande first opened in 1957.

The project design plans feature both studio and four-bedroom units, including units with private balconies. Opus also plans to build a fitness facility and a library, as well as an outdoor courtyard terrace. The hotel’s restaurant is currently public, but the apartment building’s restaurant will not be open to the public, according to plans.

The plan has changed significantly since 2021, including a decrease from a proposed seven stories to the current plan for five. At the meeting, the planning commission discussed potential parking issues at the development. The project’s current allocation of 131 on-site parking spots is 14 parking spaces short of normal city requirements, which require a parking spot for each unit in the complex.

The next meeting of the Syracuse Planning Commission will be held on March 13 at 6 p.m. The construction is anticipated to take 18 months, according to the full environment assessment form.

Published on February 28, 2023 at 10:18 pm

Contact Kendall: kaluther@syr.edu