Helio Health to open new Rochester inpatient center

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Syracuse–based Helio Health is moving into a new location in Rochester that it says will help treat more people with an increased

Development picks up at Iron Pier project in Inner Harbor

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SYRACUSE — COR Development Company, LLC, is wrapping things up with the second phase of its Iron Pier development project in the Syracuse Inner Harbor and getting ready to move on to the third phase. The real-estate development company is busy leasing out commercial space in its Iron Pier Apartments, which consists of two four-story

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The real-estate development company is busy leasing out commercial space in its Iron Pier Apartments, which consists of two four-story buildings with 112 apartments and 37,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space.

First opened in 2018, all apartments at Iron Pier are fully occupied and there is a wait list, says Steven Aiello, director of community and external relations and assistant director of finance at COR.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, things moved a little slower when it came to leasing out the commercial space, he says. “Now momentum is really picking up.”

Iron Pier’s first anchor tenant, Meier’s Creek Brewing Company at Inner Harbor, opened this past January. “It’s been a great success this summer, especially with the public,” Aiello says of the taproom and eatery, which is a satellite location for the Meier’s Creek brewery in Cazenovia.

The pub is popular with Iron Pier tenants as well as walkers and bikers enjoying the Inner Harbor, he adds. And now, a new eatery will be opening soon right next door.

Cafe Blue, operated by Blueberries & Lace food truck owner Olivia Orlando, will open later this year next to Meier’s Creek Brewing.

“There has been a lot of demand for coffee and pastries,” Aiello says. The café will be open in the mornings into lunch serving soups, salads, and sandwiches.

“We think it’s going to be the perfect compliment for now and future development,” he says. “We know she (Orlando) is going to do an absolutely fantastic job.”

Orlando’s Blueberries & Lace food truck regularly participates in events in the Inner Harbor, so her food is already well known to residents, Aiello adds. He expects the permitting process to wrap up in early fall with an end-of-year opening planned for the café.

Interest in the remaining commercial space at Iron Pier has picked up significantly now that places like Meier’s Creek and the 315 Beauty Bar salon, which opened in 2019, are up and running. Onondaga County’s planned $85 million aquarium project to create a tourist attraction is only adding to the interest form other businesses wanting to locate in the Inner Harbor, Aiello says.

It all comes together to create a vision for a vibrant waterfront district that is also connected to downtown Syracuse via the Onondaga Creek. The nearly five-mile path runs from the Inner Harbor to Armory Square and beyond to Kirk Park.

COR’s overall plan for the Iron Pier project includes 600 housing units and up to an additional 100,000 square feet of commercial space. The first phase was the Aloft Syracuse Inner Harbor hotel, located at 310 West Kirkpatrick St. “Having all that built together … really is what makes these live, work, play, dine locations successful,” Aiello notes.

“It’s not just about how many buildings can be built,” he says. “A big part of this is events and programming.” It’s about having businesses that serve the daily needs of tenants and activities for tenants and others to enjoy.”

That said, with a waiting list for housing, COR is moving forward with its third planned phase of Iron Pier and is currently designing senior housing and a new building that will hold more market-rate apartments.

Between the amenities already in place, the aquarium, and even the potential for a chip fabrication plant in Onondaga County, Aiello says things are looking bright for the Syracuse Inner Harbor and the region as a whole. “The outlook for upstate is very positive.”

Phase 1 of I-81-replacement project begins this fall

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SYRACUSE — The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is planning to get started with the Interstate 81 viaduct-replacement project this fall. However, as of late August, the department hadn’t yet chosen a specific date, a NYSDOT spokesman told CNYBJ in an email message. The six-year, $2.25 billion project will replace the elevated viaduct

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SYRACUSE — The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is planning to get started with the Interstate 81 viaduct-replacement project this fall.

However, as of late August, the department hadn’t yet chosen a specific date, a NYSDOT spokesman told CNYBJ in an email message.

The six-year, $2.25 billion project will replace the elevated viaduct of Interstate 81 (I-81) through downtown Syracuse.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and NYSDOT on May 31 signed the final documents for the project. NYSDOT then posted the formal record of decision (ROD) later that week.

“Construction will begin later this fall on the community grid alternative,” NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said in her remarks on May 31, announcing the signing in speaking with reporters. “This has been a long time coming, to say the least. But, out of all of the options that we thoroughly studied, the community grid alternative represents a generational opportunity for the city of Syracuse and its surrounding communities.” She spoke beneath the elevated viaduct across Erie Boulevard from the Erie Canal Museum.

The elevated portion of I-81 won’t go out of service until sometime in 2025.

At $2.25 billion, it represents the largest Upstate project that NYSDOT has ever undertaken, she noted.

The first phase will last about three years through 2025, with the second phase beginning in 2026 and slated to be complete by the end of 2028, Mark Frechette, NYSDOT’s I-81 project director, said. Central New Yorkers should also keep in mind that the elevated portion of I-81 won’t go out of service until sometime in 2025, he stressed.

Frechette called the record of decision a “major milestone” for the I-81 project.

“It is the final selection of the … community grid alternative, not only by the state of New York but also by the Federal Highway Administration,” he said. Frechette and additional members of the NYSDOT team working on the project joined Dominguez for the signing announcement.

As part of the multi-billion project, the existing elevated structure “that has divided the City of Syracuse for decades and disproportionately impacted residents of color” will be replaced by a new Business Loop 81 with an integrated community grid that will disperse traffic along local north-south and east-west streets, per the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul. Portions of Interstates 481 and 690 will also be reconstructed to accommodate high-speed traffic going around and through the city.

Zoey Advertising expands to larger Syracuse office

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Small Business, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Zoey Advertising has a new home base after moving to 906 Spencer St. this past May. Along with having it renovated to suit the agency’s needs, it also has room to house its growing staff. While many businesses in the advertising industry cut staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoey Advertising did the opposite,

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While many businesses in the advertising industry cut staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoey Advertising did the opposite, growing from 12 to 15 employees.

Owner Steve Roberts attributes that growth to the agency’s strategy, which isn’t just about selling ads. “Our clients are really more partners than they are customers,” he says. “There are lots of places that will sell ads. I don’t want to sell ads. I want to create a strategy.”

The philosophy not only helped the agency’s existing clients during the pandemic, but also brought in new clients as Zoey worked with them to navigate the ever-changing pandemic landscape, he says.

Formerly housed in about 2,000 square feet above Harbor View Wine and Liquors at 936 N. Clinton St., Zoey Advertising now occupies more than 3,000 square feet in its new location.

“We built specific spaces here,” Roberts notes. One thing needed was more studio space for “The Local Show” radio program the agency hosts on WSYR radio. The program — which airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and again from 7-9 a.m. on Sundays —features an ongoing “conversation” between Zoey Advertising and local business owners.

The new Spencer Street office includes a custom-built recording studio instead of a space modified to serve as a studio, Roberts says. “We’ve also got expanded areas to do video and photography.”

The larger office also provides more office space and a large “think tank” space for meetings between staff and clients.

“It’s a more productive space, a more collaborative space,” he says.

While he could have moved the agency anywhere, Roberts chose to stay in Syracuse. “We wanted to be in the city of Syracuse,” he says. The new location is convenient for both employees and clients and provides plenty of parking.

The space also provides room to grow further, Roberts notes. While he’s happy with the current staffing level, the agency has several opportunities to grow via new clients that would require even more staff. “I can’t believe how many opportunities,” he says.

Zoey Advertising currently has about 25 clients at any given time. Regular clients include Geddes Federal Savings and Loan, New York State Maple, Clinton’s Ditch – The Pepsi Place, The Syracuse Nationals, and Heid’s of Liverpool.

The agency (www.zoeyadvertising.com) provides an array of services to match the marketing strategy it develops with each client. They include photography and videography services, audio and video commercial production, web development, and social media. Zoey even has licensed drone visual creators on its team, Roberts notes.

He started Zoey Advertising in 2010 after suffering an injury in a car accident and leaving his previous job as an outreach director for a Christian ministry. His recovery was long, and he started Zoey on a part-time basis while he healed.

Roberts named the agency after his dog Zoey, a soft-coated Wheaten terrier who comes to work with him every day and makes sure to greet every client.

Syracuse Community Health targets June 2023 move-in date for new office

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Syracuse Community Health is looking forward to next June when it anticipates moving into its new office building, currently under construction at 930 S. Salina St. in Syracuse. The location is just down the street from its current building. Syracuse Community Health (SCH) on Aug. 25 held a beam-raising ceremony at the construction

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SYRACUSE — Syracuse Community Health is looking forward to next June when it anticipates moving into its new office building, currently under construction at 930 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.

The location is just down the street from its current building. Syracuse Community Health (SCH) on Aug. 25 held a beam-raising ceremony at the construction site as work continues.

Syracuse Community Health is the rebranded name of the Syracuse Community Health Center, currently located at 819 S. Salina St.

“This project has been a long time coming,” Mark Hall, president and CEO of Syracuse Community Health, said to open his remarks at the Aug. 25 event.

Hall explained that 20 years ago, when Dr. Ruben Cowart was CEO and Hall was CFO, the organization bought the former Superior Electric property on which the new building is under construction. When Syracuse Community Health bought the property, the goal at the time was to construct a new building.

Its new brand identity, logo design, and website “reflects out deep roots in the community and our long-term commitment to serve them. The new tagline, ‘healthy happens here,’ offers a promise that people can get the patient care they need from Syracuse Community Health,” per an SCH news release.

A “downsize”

The upcoming facility will replace the 70-year-old current office. It will join the organization’s already established SCH offices at 1938 E. Fayette St. and 603 Oswego St. in Syracuse.

The new building will be a 56,000-square-foot structure, which Hall describes as a “downsize” compared to the 78,000 square feet available at the current location.

“This will actually now allow us to see more patients than we actually see at [the] larger building,” Hall noted.

He went on to say that certain services will remain in the existing office, such as billing and information technology. The services that will stay there will get renamed psychiatric and substance-abuse services.

The existing building won’t be entirely full when the new location opens, so SCH intends to “reimagine” some of the space within the facility. Hall said. SCH will announce future plans for the existing building before the end of this year.

Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. of Syracuse is the general contractor on the project, and King + King Architects, also based in Syracuse, designed the facility.

Services provided

The new medical facility will have services that include primary care, dental services, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, eye care, podiatry, and administrative offices. The behavioral health and urgent-care center will remain at the current offices, which are for future renovation, per the release.

The SCH project, “when it’s all said and done,” will total about $23 million to $25 million, Hall noted.

A large portion of that will come from grant funding from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

“We received $19 million … [and $18 million] of that $19 million goes toward the building of this new building and then another million … $1.2 million is for our east side locations … renovations there,” he said.

“This community deserves this building,” New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter (D–Syracuse) said in her remarks. “It’s been a long time coming but our community and the investment … it’s definitely worth it for the people who live and work here.”

Hunter told the gathering she previously worked at the Syracuse Community Health Center “for several years.”

In his remarks, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said Hunter has “seen the potential in this neighborhood for a long time and has been planting those seeds.” And now the community is “starting to those seeds grow.”

“If you haven’t noticed, we’ve had a number of groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings literally within one-block radius just over the past year,” Walsh noted, referring to the SCH project, the Salina 1st project, and the new headquarters and manufacturing facility for JMA Wireless.

Syracuse’s volunteer-led Adopt-A-Block is a year-round effort in neighborhoods

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SYRACUSE — Adopt-A-Block, a program of the City of Syracuse, has individuals, organizations, schools, and businesses volunteering to take responsibility for the cleanup of at least two city blocks on a year-round basis. “This is our fifth year doing Adopt-A-Block to clean up litter and beautify our neighborhoods and save the waterways,” Elizabeth Hradil, constituent

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“This is our fifth year doing Adopt-A-Block to clean up litter and beautify our neighborhoods and save the waterways,” Elizabeth Hradil, constituent services and intergovernmental relations coordinator for the City of Syracuse, said.

She spoke at a June 13 ceremony at Washington Square Park at 101 Washington Square on the city’s north side.

“As the seasons go in Syracuse, it always tends to be right after the snow melts that we all begin to pay attention to the amount of litter throughout the community,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said in his remarks at the event. “We of course have it accumulating throughout the winter and the snow covers it up and then when the snow melts, it’s a rude awakening for all of us.”

Walsh went on to note that Earth Day activities in April involve community cleanups with several groups participating. “And then, unfortunately, many people kind of forget about it.” he added.

The mayor stressed to the gathering that dealing with litter is a year-round problem. The city’s sanitation team, environmental-services division at the Department of Public Works, and grounds crews at the city’s parks are working on it throughout the year, but, as Walsh put it, “It’s not enough.”

“We need everyone’s help,” he noted. “When we all come together, we can achieve amazing things, and that’s what the Adopt-A-Block program is all about.”

The program started in 2018. Similar in nature to Adopt-A-Highway, the city asks community members, neighborhood-block groups, and businesses to adopt a minimum of two blocks somewhere in the city that they commit to keeping clean throughout the year.

Those involved commit to at least one cleanup per month, weather permitting.

“Not surprisingly, when we announced the program, the community stepped up in a major way and has continued to step up over the past four years,” Walsh said.

As of the June 13 announcement, about 140 groups around Syracuse had adopted a minimum of two blocks in every part of the city. Walsh noted that Syracuse has a lot of blocks, representing “a lot of opportunities” to get more people involved.

Volunteer provides insight

Syeisha Byrd, neighborhood resident who also spoke at the event, believes the program is important because “when you look good, you feel good.”

“How often have you gotten dressed in the morning, looked in the mirror, and thought I’m not feeling great in this outfit and you change your clothes,” Byrd said.

It’s the same feeling she gets when she sees garbage outside her home in her neighborhood, so she disposes of it.

Byrd went on to say that the group she leads for Adopt-A-Block got up early on Earth Day this past April and spent three hours cleaning their blocks.

“We laughed. We smiled. We complained when the bags got a little too heavy, but the best part was our neighbors who stopped and said hello and introduced themselves,” Byrd said. The neighbors that came out of their homes to thank us or drove by us, beeping their horns.”

The difference between Earth Day cleanup and Adopt-A-Block is that the City’s program is a year-long commitment.

“It’s not just a one-and-done,” she added.

Byrd concluded her remarks with a call to action, encouraging people who participate in the program to take pictures and share them on Twitter via #KeepingCuseClean. In its document outlining the Adopt-A-Block program, the city also asks that participants tag its Twitter account @Syracuse1848 if they’re posting photos about their clean-up effort.

Individuals or groups interested in signing up can do so at syrgov.net/adoptablock or contact Hradil at ehradil@syrgov.net or (315) 448-2489.

The Taphouse on Walton aims to bring new eats and drinks to Armory Square

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — This fall, Armory Square gains two new options for people looking to get a bite to eat or enjoy a drink when The Taphouse on Walton and sister business Taphouse Bread Company open their doors. Kyle Mastropietro, president of Mastro Restaurant Group, says The Taphouse on Walton, at 165 Walton St., will serve

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Kyle Mastropietro, president of Mastro Restaurant Group, says The Taphouse on Walton, at 165 Walton St., will serve a variety of beers, wine, and spirits. The taproom has 40 taps, 10 of which will feature the same beers. The other 30 taps will always be changing, he says, and feature local breweries and seasonal brews. It will be “all our local breweries that we are so lucky to have and that are so good,” he adds.

The taproom will also feature a wine-dispensing system for pricier wines, allowing Mastropietro to sell more-expensive wines by the ounce instead of just by the bottle.

“What this will allow you to do is try that $200 or $300 bottle of wine by the ounce,” he says. Where he can, he wants to bring in new and unique offerings for customers to try.

Paired with it all are sandwiches, cheese boards, and flatbreads, many that will feature bread from the Taphouse Bread Company next door.

“The food is going to match it all,” Mastropietro says.

Patterned after a French bakery, Taphouse Bread Company will make pastries and specialize in sourdough bread, featuring some of the same flavor profiles as the beers served next door. “The bakery is going to be the engine for our menu,” he says. Along with supplying bread for the taproom, the bakery will be open to the public.

Mastropietro rents his space from Pacific Properties. The Taphouse on Walton will seat about 84 people including the bar and lounge spaces. The taphouse is about 4,900 square feet, with the bakery occupying another 1,200 square feet next door. He expects to employ about 10 people at the bakery and between 16 and 20 employees at the taproom.

After some delay in getting the necessary permits, work began in June to renovate the space, which was formerly home to The Blue Tusk pub and restaurant. During the permit delay, Mastropietro says he was able to stockpile building materials and supplies and then hit the ground running when work began. He is the project’s general contractor and hired a slate of subcontractors to complete the work.

“Everything is going to be brand new in there,” he says, including new flooring, new plumbing, a new bar, and a completely new layout for the space. “It was exactly what I wanted to do for my next project.”

Mastropietro declined to disclose the project cost.

“We didn’t want to add something to Armory Square that is already here,” he says of his newest concept. Mastropietro believes the more variety there is and the more successful the businesses are, the more those businesses all lift each other up. “We really care a lot about this neighborhood,” he says.

Mastropietro is hoping for an October opening for his new business ventures. He also owns the Kasai Ramen restaurant at 218 Walton St.

Inner Harbor aquarium project to begin with design phase

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SYRACUSE — The upcoming $85 million Inner Harbor aquarium project will begin with the design phase. The Onondaga County Legislature narrowly approved the project in a 9-8 vote during its meeting of Aug. 2. Like the legislators who voted against it, some segments of the community believed county officials could’ve spent that money on other

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SYRACUSE — The upcoming $85 million Inner Harbor aquarium project will begin with the design phase.

The Onondaga County Legislature narrowly approved the project in a 9-8 vote during its meeting of Aug. 2. Like the legislators who voted against it, some segments of the community believed county officials could’ve spent that money on other matters, such as poverty in the Syracuse area.

But in the end the project was approved, following 10 months of debate about it after McMahon first announced the aquarium initiative in early October 2021.

The aquarium project is an expansion of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon told local reporters following the county legislature’s vote. The project idea came from the Friends of the Zoo, he said. McMahon credited zoo officials, such as executive director Ted Fox and his team, for their work in giving county officials “the confidence to undertake this [project].”

The county executive called the aquarium project a “tourism year-round asset … that we can sell.” He also noted that the county doesn’t have many year-round assets related to tourism. The project is “in direct support” of Onondaga County’s hospitality industry and restaurants.

“It will bring in visitors. It will keep and capture spending here from families. It is a quality-of-life piece of infrastructure for families here in Onondaga County,” McMahon said. “It’s a job creator. Hundreds of construction jobs will be created during this project. Hundreds of jobs at the aquarium and at the restaurant and hospitality industry will be created because of this aquarium.”

McMahon also sees the project as an opportunity to “build on synergies” with other public investments in the K-12 STEAM space. Onondaga County has the only county-wide STEAM school coming online in the state of New York, he noted. STEAM is short for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The STEAM school will be housed at the downtown building that was previously home to Central High School.

The aquarium project will also provide “unique opportunities” for the county to partner with its higher-education institutions and research, McMahon contends.

“It will provide great opportunities to tell one of the greatest stories we’ve had in our community with the cleanup of Onondaga Lake and its tributaries and work in the history of this lake and what it’s meant to our community and how for the first time in a generation what is happening around it as it becomes the epicenter for recreational and leisure activity once again,” he said.

McMahon also called the aquarium a “workforce retention and recruitment tool” for the businesses that are investing millions and millions of dollars here and “the ones that were on the precipice of landing here in Onondaga County.”

He also sees the aquarium as the “stimulus needed for neighborhood revitalization in that harbor that has been stalled.” In addition, Onondaga County heard from private donors earlier that day who are interested in partnering, he added.

Once the aquarium design is finished, then the county will issue a request-for-proposals (RFP) for operators.

“We will then be able to tell you what that looks like. Do we have a public-private partnership? Do we have a nonprofit partner?” McMahon said in his remarks.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo and zoo director Ted Fox will be “deeply involved.” The county will also issue an RFP for a general contractor for the project. Local people, minority and women-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and apprentices from Syracuse Build will be working on this project.

Syracuse Build is a mayoral initiative, housed within CNY Works, supported by CenterState CEO’s Work Train. The program has helped residents get involved in pre-apprenticeship programs and work toward credentials in “high-demand” sectors, including construction; electrical mechanics; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC; advanced/high-tech manufacturing; commercial driving; and software development, as described in a CenterState CEO news release.

Salina 1st project is under way with site remediation

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SYRACUSE — The early work on the Salina 1st project, south of downtown Syracuse at 1081 S. Salina St., has focused on site remediation. Crews have been involved in site work and remediation because the property is a brownfield, Gail Montplaisir, a real-estate developer from Washington, D.C., working with Taurus Development Group, tells CNYBJ in

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SYRACUSE — The early work on the Salina 1st project, south of downtown Syracuse at 1081 S. Salina St., has focused on site remediation.

Crews have been involved in site work and remediation because the property is a brownfield, Gail Montplaisir, a real-estate developer from Washington, D.C., working with Taurus Development Group, tells CNYBJ in an Aug. 19 phone interview.

The work involves moving soils to where they’re needed and removing soils from the site, which have to be tested because they’re contaminated.

“As part of the DEC program of which we’re a part, they get tested and then they get taken to a particular landfill that is already equipped to accept polluted soils.,” says Montplaisir.

DEC is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

During the week of Aug. 22, crews were scheduled to install the infrastructure for the stormwater-management system.

“For a project like this, there’s quite a large stormwater-management containment facility and that will be under the parking lot,” says Montplaisir.

Crews then attached various pipes to that big tank, which will eventually take the stormwater out to different areas and out to public services.

She anticipates vertical construction will begin either late this year or the beginning of next year once all the site work concludes. Construction on the Salina 1st project is scheduled to be completed by 2024.

Montplaisir was among those who spoke at a June 2 event to mark the start of the construction process. Besides Montplaisir, Emanuel Henderson of JHP Industrial Supply Co. and Eli Smith of E. Smith Contractors are spearheading the Salina 1st project.

The partners describe Salina 1st as a “catalytic,” mixed use, community development project. The 52,000-square-foot facility will include residential, retail, light industrial, and incubator/shared-office space.

E. Smith Contractors of Syracuse and Taurus Renovation & Construction are overseeing the construction effort.

Salina 1st is the first all minority-led commercial development in the history of Syracuse, per a June 2 news release about the project. With an estimated investment of more than $10 million, the Salina 1st project seeks to “embrace, not displace” neighborhood residents and aims to “hire within the community.”

“We were one of the first projects to kind of stake our flag on the south side and say we’re going to move this forward and since then we’ve seen a lot more interest in the south side as well as a lot more development of project and some really big ones, which is great, so that can’t help but encourage the revitalization,” Montplaisir tells CNYBJ. “We’re really, really pleased to be a part of that.”

Co-owner, store manager share their stories leading to Parthenon Books

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SYRACUSE — When Stephen Case returned from a trip to Greece in August 2021, he had the urge to open a bookstore in downtown Syracuse. In his travels around Greece, he says he saw the Acropolis and visited some “cool” bookstores and coffee shops, which added to his desire to see an independent bookstore open

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SYRACUSE — When Stephen Case returned from a trip to Greece in August 2021, he had the urge to open a bookstore in downtown Syracuse.

In his travels around Greece, he says he saw the Acropolis and visited some “cool” bookstores and coffee shops, which added to his desire to see an independent bookstore open in the downtown area. Case is a broker and owner of Acropolis Realty Group / Acropolis Development in downtown Syracuse.

“It was my concept,” says Case, referring to the downtown’s first bookstore since the early 1990s. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

Parthenon Books has been operating at 333 S. Salina St. since June 25. It’s located in the same space where Rainbow Kids previously operated.

The bookstore is part of Acropolis Center, which is owned by both Case and Ryan Benz.

Both men are also co-owners of Parthenon Books. Besides the bookstore, Benz also operates the restaurant Oh My Darling, just a short distance from Parthenon Books on South Salina Street.

“I thought [Benz] would be instrumental in helping with the café. So, we’ve got a little café in the bookstore,” says Case, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 24.

Case says he and Benz spent about $500,000 to open the bookstore, including buildout, furniture, fixtures, and inventory.

Selena Giampa manages Parthenon Books, which held a ribbon cutting June 30. The approximately 4,000-square-foot store has four full-time employees and about five part-time employees.

“This is [Giampa’s] dream … to run an independent bookstore,” says Case.

Store manager’s new beginning

Case had all the components to launch the downtown bookstore but still needed someone to manage the operation.

Giampa had been working for the Research Foundation for SUNY at SUNY ESF when she says her position was eliminated in July 2021 due to pandemic. She has a friend who works as a massage therapist who soon after asked Giampa if she could do anything, what would it be if money wasn’t an issue.

“I always wanted to run a bookstore,” says Giampa, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 23. She had moved back to Central New York from Phoenix, Arizona about 15 years ago and “couldn’t believe” that no one had opened a bookstore in the downtown area.

Not long after the interaction with her friend, Giampa says her friend and an acquaintance were looking at a commercial space in downtown Syracuse with Stephen Case (that space is now home to Parthenon Books).

As Giampa recalled it, before the meeting ended, Case asked his clients if they knew of anybody with knowledge of operating a bookstore.

“Steve and I met and I told him how weird and serendipitous it was,” says Giampa.

Their meeting in early July 2021 convinced Case that a downtown bookstore would soon happen.

Giampa had worked at Borders stores in Syracuse and Arizona for about 12 years in roles that included inventory manager and café manager, per her LinkedIn profile. She also had worked as a clerk for the central branch of the Onondaga County Public Libraries for four years.

“Books have always been sort of a thing that I’ve wanted to surround myself with,” she notes.

Trade-Mark Construction of Syracuse handled the construction work to prepare the space for business. Trade-Mark started its work in March of this year, according to Giampa.

“There was a lot of build out,” she recalls.

A distributor offered the bookstore a list about 10,000 titles for selections to determine the store’s first order, Giampa says. Parthenon Books is also setting up accounts with independent publishers. The store will also accept used books but that’s done by appointment because “we’re really really selective about what we want,” Giampa tells CNYBJ.

Parthenon Books also hosts events involving book clubs, local authors, trivia nights, and is open to helping local nonprofits with fundraising events. The store has a café that offers products from SkyTop Coffee of Manlius, SugarTop Bake Shoppe in Salina, and the Westcott Cookie Company of Syracuse.

“Being as locally focused as possible is a huge part of our business model,” Giampa notes.

The name Parthenon Books is a nod to the history of ancient Greece and the bookstore’s operation space in Acropolis Center. The Parthenon was a temple on the Athenian Acropolis that was dedicated to the goddess Athena.

“We have a mural in our store that is a nod to the goddess Athena as well,” says Giampa.

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