Syracuse Common Council gives go-ahead on 1st tax exemption for redevelopment of neglected Maria Regina campus

The Syracuse Common Council approved the first tax exemption for the redevelopment of the Maria Regina campus on Syracuse’s North Side.

According to the framework of the exemption, Home Leasing, a development firm from Rochester, will pay $550 per unit it develops rather than its standard property taxes.

If Home Leasing develops the 181 units it has pitched to the city, it will pay $99,550 per year. In exchange for the exemption, Home Leasing will have to maintain a certain mix of affordable housing that relies on the area’s median income.

The AMI varies each year and is also based on the size of a household.

The exact mix of levels of affordability and how many units must remain affordable will be subject to a negotiation with city officials, according to Commissioner of Assessment Matt Oja.

The exemption will last 15 years with the option to renew the agreement for another 15 years. It will not go into effect until the first taxable status date (January 1) after Home Leasing is issued a certificate of compliance for the property.

The six-building campus has been sitting empty for nearly a decade. Prominent Syracuse developer Mark Congel bought the campus in 2015 from the Sisters of St. Francis to redevelop it into a mixed-use space, including housing, but never followed through.

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Since Congel has owned the property, it has deteriorated, according to neighbors. Windows have often been left broken at the property and trash has littered the lawn. The lack of progress on the property has infuriated those that live near the property.

Home Leasing has signed a purchase agreement for the property but the sale will not go through until the firm has enough financing for the entire redevelopment.

In 2022, Home Leasing estimated the cost to redevelop the property would be about $78 million. It now estimates the redevelopment will cost more than $100 million.

Home Leasing officials said New York State’s Homes and Community Renewal, a state government agency that administers development programs, has put the development in its closing pipeline for financing at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025.

Jenifer Higgins, Home Leasing’s development manager, said the exemption is also important to demonstrate “local support” for the project so that Home Leasing can obtain low-income housing tax credits.

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