The owner of the Hotel Syracuse
has paid enough of its back property taxes to keep City Hall from
taking possession of the abandoned building and selling to a developer.
The Syracuse Common Council was scheduled to vote Monday whether to sell the hotel to Pyramid Hotel Group, an outfit from Boston that proposed putting $60 million into renovating the historic hotel.
That was derailed Thursday, when the hotel's current mortgage holder, Financitech Ltd. of Tel Aviv, Israel, paid $361,855 of the $515,000 in back property taxes owed on the hotel. Financitech has launched a foreclosure lawsuit against the hotel's owner GML Syracuse LLC.
The city cashed the Financitech's check Friday, blocking plans to seize the hotel for back taxes and sell it. However, city officials are weighing other options to take control of the hotel, including eminent domain, according to Ben Walsh, Syracuse's deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development.
A story Friday published after Financitech delivered the check but before city officials accepted it drew dozens of comments from syracuse.com readers. Here's a selection:
From Dan in Cicero: Too bad. This means it'll just continue to sit there, rotting away.
From gerald_frys: The city should work with the new developer to get the old one to sell. Maybe a deal could be worked out. The current owners have got to be losing money on it. The only reason I can think of someone holding onto the property is some sort of tax writeoff. Eliminate the loophole and some progress will be made . . .
From Jackie Martling: As usual in this city, people get worked up over the wrong details. The hotel would be an immaculate palace if we actually had a strong desire for people to come to this city. If business was booming and we had an identity other than a rusted-out rust belt that is clinging to a university, a few hospitals, and not much else.
Fixing up a hotel so that it can sit empty does no good. Let's stop putting the cart before the horse. Renovating a hotel doesn't fix anything.
From Mypostsux: Occupancy rates for downtown condos and apartments are running in the upper 90 percentile. Downtown hotels are routinely booked solid. Oncenter has booked events that require nearby lodging, and would be able to book more with more hotel space in the neighborhood. Getting the hotel up and running is certainly justified.
From keepwaterclean: At least the threat of foreclosure got the city $362,000 it did not have before. This is what the city should be doing on all the deadbeats who don't pay property taxes.
From MrSmithGoesTo: Just return the check and take it over . . . it's time overseas interests learned to not mess around with us and let property rot. If you are not a U.S.-based interest you should not be allowed to hold a property hostage.
What should happen next with the Hotel Syracuse? Leave a comment below.
The Syracuse Common Council was scheduled to vote Monday whether to sell the hotel to Pyramid Hotel Group, an outfit from Boston that proposed putting $60 million into renovating the historic hotel.
That was derailed Thursday, when the hotel's current mortgage holder, Financitech Ltd. of Tel Aviv, Israel, paid $361,855 of the $515,000 in back property taxes owed on the hotel. Financitech has launched a foreclosure lawsuit against the hotel's owner GML Syracuse LLC.
The city cashed the Financitech's check Friday, blocking plans to seize the hotel for back taxes and sell it. However, city officials are weighing other options to take control of the hotel, including eminent domain, according to Ben Walsh, Syracuse's deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development.
A story Friday published after Financitech delivered the check but before city officials accepted it drew dozens of comments from syracuse.com readers. Here's a selection:
From Dan in Cicero: Too bad. This means it'll just continue to sit there, rotting away.
From gerald_frys: The city should work with the new developer to get the old one to sell. Maybe a deal could be worked out. The current owners have got to be losing money on it. The only reason I can think of someone holding onto the property is some sort of tax writeoff. Eliminate the loophole and some progress will be made . . .
From Jackie Martling: As usual in this city, people get worked up over the wrong details. The hotel would be an immaculate palace if we actually had a strong desire for people to come to this city. If business was booming and we had an identity other than a rusted-out rust belt that is clinging to a university, a few hospitals, and not much else.
Fixing up a hotel so that it can sit empty does no good. Let's stop putting the cart before the horse. Renovating a hotel doesn't fix anything.
From Mypostsux: Occupancy rates for downtown condos and apartments are running in the upper 90 percentile. Downtown hotels are routinely booked solid. Oncenter has booked events that require nearby lodging, and would be able to book more with more hotel space in the neighborhood. Getting the hotel up and running is certainly justified.
From keepwaterclean: At least the threat of foreclosure got the city $362,000 it did not have before. This is what the city should be doing on all the deadbeats who don't pay property taxes.
From MrSmithGoesTo: Just return the check and take it over . . . it's time overseas interests learned to not mess around with us and let property rot. If you are not a U.S.-based interest you should not be allowed to hold a property hostage.
What should happen next with the Hotel Syracuse? Leave a comment below.
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