Crime and disrepair brought down the once-grand Huntley building.
Members of the Strathmore Huntley Group stand next to the Huntley apartments that closed in 2007. Members are John Lacey (kneeling), Margaret Carrillo-Sheridan (left), Garth Coviello and Brenda Colella. Syracuse, NY -- Near the northern edge of Syracuse’s Strathmore section, the Huntley apartment building sits vacant, secured with plywood and marked with “no trespassing” signs.
It stands out in a neighborhood dominated by stately houses and old-style charm.
But a group of frustrated neighbors plans to change that. After years of failed efforts to convince others to improve the property, Strathmore residents have given up looking for outside help. They’re taking on the challenge themselves.
Eleven area residents, many of whom met through neighborhood meetings about the Huntley, are creating the Strathmore Huntley Group LLC. In cooperation with Syracuse City Hall, the group plans to buy the Huntley for $1 and renovate it into market-rate apartments. The transfer, a result of a federal government foreclosure, depends on a vote today of the Common Council.
All of the Strathmore Huntley members are making an investment, which might include their own money, professional services or a combination of the two. They plan to pay for the renovation with a mix of private investment and bank loans. They don’t know yet how much it will cost and wouldn’t say how much money has been committed by investors.
The group’s ranks include four leaders: two lawyers, an engineer and a public affairs professional. Other members include an architect, lawyers and some with real estate development experience, said John Lacey, one of the four managers. They are young, old, single, married, some with children, some without. Many didn’t know each other until the Huntley project brought them together, he said.
The members say they see potential in the four-story, brick mammoth that used to cater to well-to-do Syracusans. In the 1930s and ’40s, doormen in top hats welcomed the residents of the finely furnished apartments, Lacey said. The older neighbors remember the building’s glory days, when bachelors, widows and widowers called the Huntley home, said Lacey, 34, of 300 Stolp Ave.
View Huntley apartments, 407 Stolp Ave. in a larger map
Peggy McCarthy, 72, of Twin Hills Drive, recalled her uncle, a widower, living in the Huntley and her brothers delivering newspapers there.
“It was a very respectable place to live,” McCarthy said. “I always wanted to get a look inside, but I never did.”
Through the ’70s, the building remained stable, neighbors said.
“It was the most elegant building,” said Margaret Carrillo-Sheridan, 44, a Strathmore Huntley leader who grew up in the neighborhood. “I equated it to the Park Avenue apartment in ‘Green Acres.’”
For the past three decades, though, the building was rented to low-income tenants, and it fell into disrepair. The problems of loitering, crime and loud cars spread throughout the block, Lacey said.
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development foreclosed on the Huntley, along with eight other apartment buildings, after the owner failed a series of inspections and fell behind on the mortgage. The property package was owned by ElJay Redevelopment Co. and managed by Longley Jones.
When the city announced it was seeking developers for the Huntley, the neighbors tried to reach out to reputable development companies to revive the property, Lacey said. By then, the most involved neighbors had formed a committee of the Strathmore Neighborhood Association.
“None of the developers were all that interested,” said Carrillo-Sheridan, of 146 Beverly Road. “One guy even told me the best hope was that someone would buy it quickly and turn it back into Section 8 housing — that nobody would ever pay market rate to live here. I was really angry about that. I live two blocks from this building.”
Frustrated with the lack of interest, about 10 members attended an open house at the Huntley in April. It needed work, but wasn’t nearly as bad as some had imagined, Lacey said.
Carrillo-Sheridan recalled that as they stood inside the 80-year-old building, one neighbor, Dick Watkins, said, “We should do this ourselves.”
“We all kind of looked around at each other, and thought, I guess we could,” she said.
Five months later, the group is preparing legal documents to form its own company. They’ve enlisted contractors and advisers for help. They have a commitment for a bank loan and nine private investors.
The plan is to redesign the floor plan, reducing the number of units to create larger apartments that can be rented to tenants who earn up to 115 percent of the area median income. There are 42 small apartments in the building, which has a large garage next-door.
The floor plan changes will need to be approved by HUD, said Paul Driscoll, the city’s commissioner of neighborhood and business development. The project mandates the building be brought up to code within two years, or the group would face penalties.
The other leaders of the Strathmore Huntley Group are Brenda Colella, 35, of 425 Roberts Ave, and Garth Coviello, 36, of 127 Stolp Ave.
Lacey credited City Hall with taking his group seriously.
“Who is better to take on a project like this than the neighbors that have a real stake in this property’s future?” Lacey said. “We are personally affected by its success or failure.”
--Contact Meghan Rubado at mrubado@syracuse.com or 470-3260.