SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Hayner Hoyt Corporation of Syracuse is beginning work to redevelop the building at 400 S. Salina St. in Syracuse, which is now known as City Center.

It was previously home to the former Sibley’s department store.

Hayner Hoyt and the nonprofit Red House Arts Center hosted a Jan. 18 groundbreaking event at City Center. 

“We originally were hired as the general contractor and construction manager to redevelop this building about five years ago, and as things went through the process, we were asked to step in and help as partners in the project and we were very honored to do so,” Jeremy Thurston, president of the Hayner Hoyt Corporation, said in his remarks at the groundbreaking 

Thurston also acknowledged development partners Samara Hannah, executive director of the Redhouse, and William Hider, a member of the executive committee of the Redhouse board of directors. He also noted the involvement of Tompkins Trust Company, as well as partners Pathfinder Bank and Adirondack Bank.

The project cost is listed at $37 million, in a project document on the website of the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency.

The construction effort will turn the 280,000-square-foot building into a mixed-use commercial, retail, and apartment building, according to Hayner Hoyt. Anchor tenants include the Redhouse Performing Arts Center, which has occupied part of the building since 2018, and Hayner Hoyt which will take up the new portion of the building when it opens in early 2023.

The remaining office spaces and the new residential apartment units are also planned to be available for lease in early 2023.

The project represents “such an important symbol in downtown’s rebirth” Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc., contended in her remarks. 

“Salina Street has always been our Main Street and the building saw new life back in 2018 when the Redhouse Arts Center moved in,” Treier added. “We’re excited to now see this phase of redevelopment moving forward where we’ll be able to see a whole new exterior of the building, which will activate the heart of our community.” 

Schopfer Architects, LLP of Syracuse is the architect on the project. The project design includes a courtyard bordered by glass walls to highlight the ground-level retail spaces, and balconies for the residential-apartment units. 

The top-floor office space will have an outdoor balcony overlooking Armory Square. City Center has a 750-space parking garage, making it “very accessible” for office tenants, residential tenants, and visitors, Hayner Hoyt said.

“This has long been a big gap in downtown in our overall development that we are about to fill,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said. 

City Center also made headlines in 2017 when Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) decided against moving its corporate office and nearly 600 employees to downtown Syracuse from its location in DeWitt. ADMI is now headquartered in Chicago, Illinois

“This project is so instrumental in our downtown … in the core of our downtown to really help revitalize a building that should be a stronger asset but also help revitalize our arts and cultural corridor, which is a huge piece of our future growth,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in his remarks at the groundbreaking event.