A Path Forward for Housing in Syracuse
From Study to Strategy
The Syracuse Housing Study was the foundation to create the Syracuse Housing Strategy.
The Syracuse Housing Strategy was adopted by the Common Council on September 3, 2024. The Strategy calls for "additive new work" that builds on major initiatives currently underway, including the Resurgent Neighborhoods Initiative, the East Adams neighborhood redevelopment, and the Community Grid Vision Plan, as well as major programs like the Syracuse Land Bank and Downtown revitalization efforts.
A Two Part Effort to Identify and Develop Responsive Housing Strategies for Syracuse
Housing has been, and continues to be, a critical issue in Syracuse that has broad economic, quality of life, health, and fiscal impacts. To better understand these impacts and how best to move forward, a two-part effort was initiated in 2022 and continued through 2024.
PART 1
The Syracuse Housing Study
The creation of a citywide housing strategy for Syracuse began with the Syracuse Housing Study.
Sep 2022 - Jun 2023
The Study began in late 2022 and was completed and delivered to the Syracuse Common Council in June 2023.
The work focused on analyzing the Syracuse housing market. There were many important findings in this analysis but two stand out above the rest:
One is that much of the housing in Syracuse has been neglected for decades. Consequently, property values have stagnated (even accounting for recent price escalations) and the cost of catching up on deferred maintenance and improvements generally exceeds what properties are worth. This puts a great fiscal strain on City government, making it difficult to operate and provide for a high quality of life for residents. This represents a market gap.
The other is that despite significant degradation, housing is still too expensive for many, making it very difficult for low-income households to succeed. This represents an affordability gap.
PART 2
The Syracuse Housing Strategy
The development of strategies to address housing market challenges and opportunities in Syracuse is now complete!
Aug 2023 - May 2024
The second part of the process was the development of the strategy the City needs to respond to these twin problems of low quality on one hand and low affordability for many on the other.
The draft strategy was presented in May of 2024 and adopted by the Common Council in September.
THE PROCESS
