Charity won controversial fight with preservationists to tear down the house, but it doesn't have enough money to begin construction.
View full sizeA lot at 1100 E. Genesee St. where a historic house used to stand sits empty. The Ronald McDonald House of CNY hoped to have a new building on the site by the end of 2009.
Syracuse, NY -- For 22 months, a lot at the corner of East Genesee Street and University Avenue has sat vacant, with nothing but grass, weeds and the crumbling foundation of a 150-year-old building.
The property owner, Ronald McDonald House of Central New York, tore down a 19th century building there in 2008 and hoped to have a bustling guesthouse open by the end of 2009.
But that goal came and went.
The charity won a controversial fight with preservationists to tear down the house, but it doesn’t have enough money to begin construction. And Ronald McDonald House leaders say they aren’t sure when they will.
“When final approval came through, that was the time the bottom fell out of the economy,” said Beth Trunfio, executive director of the local charity, which provides housing to families of sick children during hospital stays.
Fundraising has ramped up in recent months, Trunfio said, and the organization has about $4 million of its $6 million goal. Construction won’t begin until all the money and in-kind contributions are in hand, she said.
Asked how long it could take — one year, two, five — Trunfio generalized. “It’s certainly not going to be an extraordinary amount of time,” she said. “The momentum in our fundraising is very strong.”