BY ANTHONY DIMARZO
My company supported Renaissance Square in 2005 because we thought it could become a hub of downtown activity. Moshe Safdie showed us how bus riders, college students, conventioneers, and theater goers could share exciting, climate-controlled space and enjoy restaurants and shops.
We started the process of converting the historic Warner Building on St. Paul Street to high-end loft apartments based on that vision. I relied on the assurance that there would be public parking with green space above, and new housing sites to reinforce the emerging St. Paul Quarter.
Alas, that promise no longer exists. Theater space is now highly unlikely. The bus terminal plan we were shown is an open-air, purely functional affair, and the space once described by Safdie as a "great indoor urban gathering place" will now just be a lengthy passageway to Main Street. I think it's far fetched to imagine any shops other than one selling textbooks to the community-college students, and perhaps some fast food.
The vision for downtown presented by Maggie Brooks in this newspaper June 10 is disappointing. She said: "If you look at other cities... and how they have approached revitalization and really redefined their center cities, they're using the same three elements that we're using: education, arts, and transportation." Really?
Let's look at those "three elements" more closely:
1) Education. MCC exists downtown across the street. Changes in the MCC program that would attract more or different students can easily be accommodated in the vast, architecturally significant, former Sibley Department Store. The huge sums required for new construction can be redirected to things we really need.
2) Arts. The Auditorium Theater brings us Broadway road shows today. For decades we have heard scare stories that tomorrow's shows won't fit. And we don't have the money for a new theater anyway. And there is much more to "arts" than high-priced, spectacular shows.
3) Transportation. Eliminating the outdoor "wall" of buses that line up several times a day on Main Street is the only justification for a central station, for doing so will permit Main Street to again become a retail hub with parking allowed. Transportation is one of the three keys to downtown revitalization when it brings people downtown who formerly used their car to get to the mall or to work. Our city is too small to support a light-rail system, but revitalization could be triggered by much more frequent bus service.
"Centralized transportation," which the county executive heralded, just means having to take a longer walk to get to your destination. In European cities that I visit, the bus or tram is usually at the stop in less than 10 minutes, and from one's sheltered seat, one can usually view an electronic display explaining just how many minutes it will be before each bus arrives. If money were to be spent on that kind of "transportation" instead of a "central station" called "Renaissance Square," you might find strong support from the City Council and mayor.
A vision for the future of downtown should definitely include high-speed rail. At present, our "gateway" is an airport. That means renting a car, or summoning a hotel jitney. With high-speed rail and a swift connector to the core on Main Street, our downtown becomes the gateway. That will generate the investment in housing, retail, conventions, hotels, and the arts necessary to fulfill its promise. Maggie said: "I certainly support a study of high-speed rail." Study? If we redirect federal transportation dollars to build an intermodal station at Amtrak (as exists in Syracuse), we make that vision closer to reality.
Future costs to taxpayers were not adequately addressed by the county executive. RGRTA (like every transit system anywhere) will always be dependent on state and federal funding. The cost of operating Ren Square may well fall on local taxpayers if the funders insist that their money go toward bus service itself.
Quoting Maggie: "The subsidy at the performing arts center, it's a gap that can be overcome simply by increased participation...." I don't believe that. Theaters, arenas, and public auditoriums have always required subsidies. Will bookings from 50 conventions a year make up the loss? I won't bet on it.
When taxpayer money is at stake, we should consider what projects hold the most promise for economic development. My priorities are first to keep taxes as low as possible by only investing where it's needed. Then, I suggest:
A) Provide the incentives necessary to get more housing downtown. That will generate the market for retail, arts, entertainment, restaurants.
B) Create places to park, especially on Main Street.
C) Create the station we are told will be necessary for high-speed rail, and while doing that, also accommodate the inter-city buses. It will be modest (as is the one in Syracuse). Avoid white elephants that will need continued upkeep and maintenance.
DiMarzo is president of Mark IV Construction Company, which is developing the HH WarnerBuilding on St. Paul Street for residential use.