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On a cold and rainy afternoon in the Eastwood neighborhood, local contractor Gary Campbell stops at the house on Mosley Drive in between his many projects.

The house had been vacant for eight years and was condemned before Campbell bought it in 2023 for $9,000 from the Greater Syracuse Land Bank. It was an unappealing sight to the average investor — broken windows, detached cabinets and floors covered in water damage.

Even with nothing but baseboards and exposed foundations, he can describe every room in the 2,000-square-foot, two-story house in detail, without ever glancing at a floor plan. Though it’s still a work in progress, it’s a special project he wants to be sure he gets right.

For Campbell, a house like this is exciting. Like the slogan on his paint-stained fluorescent green T-shirt says, he’s dedicated to making “dreams become reality.”

“I love those kinds of houses that nobody wants to fix,” Campbell said. “My family and I, we need the space. This house fits all of our needs.”

He, his wife Sarah and their seven children hope to move in by July.

Campbell’s small business, G&C General Construction, has served the Syracuse area in restoring properties for more than 12 years. In addition to helping other clients with smaller projects, he restores condemned and abandoned properties for many Greater Syracuse Land Bank homebuyers — and now does the same for his own on Mosley Drive.

Construction and community service are inseparable to Campbell. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Campbell learned the basics of carpentry from his father. Later, as a teenager, he trained to become a mason and build houses from the ground up in his surrounding urban neighborhood.

When Campbell moved to Syracuse in 2011 for his wife, his mission to serve remained the same.

“Life is rough in Jamaica,” Campbell said. “I was doing community service back home, so it’s natural for me to do it here. It’s a given talent, I’ve always been given back.”

After he moved to New York state, his mother-in-law encouraged him to get a state carpentry certification from the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. He became a state-certified carpenter, building clientele by doing everything from bathroom restorations to full-scale home renovations.

Now, Campbell works 12-hour days — waking up every morning at five and getting his kids ready for school, all while making it home by seven each night for dinner. His two phones ring constantly with requests from his employees, friends and clients.

But he wouldn’t have it any other way. While running into obstacles with flipping houses and finding the manpower to get projects done on time, he reminds himself of one thing: “keep helping and help will come back to you.”

Whether it be taking the extra time to fix the finish on a client’s new kitchen, or letting a tenant of one his properties skip a few months on rent to get back their feet, Campbell believes that managing property goes further than turning a profit.

“I guess I’m doing something good,” Campbell said. “That’s why the Land Bank chooses me. All I have to do is keep doing good, and it will come back to me.”

Campbell’s work with the Greater Syracuse Land Bank goes beyond just fixing houses — it brings investment and value to under-resourced Syracuse neighborhoods amid the city’s housing crisis.

60.7% of Syracuse residents rent their properties, with 18,712 rental properties recorded on the Syracuse Rental Registry map. As of April, there are 1,450 vacant residential properties within the city limits.

“Nobody wants to live near a vacant house,” Kaitlyn Wright, the Land Bank’s executive director, said. “We need people to make this kind of investment in our community so that everyone can live in a neighborhood without vacant and abandoned buildings.”

For many contractors, taking on this kind of work can be time-consuming and minimally profitable. The cost of remediation and other unforeseen issues typical of old, condemned properties can outweigh the cost of labor.

“It’s not for everyone. They’re a bit of a headache, and as you start opening up walls, you’re going to run into unanticipated problems,” Wright said. “But if you are dedicated, and you have the time to put into it, it can be a really great opportunity as an investment.”

Along with owning his own properties, Campbell has partnered with Land Bank homebuyers to help advance housing development efforts in Syracuse.

When Kanischa Miller looked to buy a house in Syracuse last year, she realized she was priced out of the Westcott neighborhood she had grown up in as a child. It drew her to the North Side neighborhood, where she found affinity with the neighborhood’s character and immigrant community.

“It’s a really special place in a really special side of town. It’s a very close-knit community there as well,” Miller said. “Those aspects of the neighborhood are really great, but the housing is so underinvested in.”

A passionate community advocate with the CNY Community Foundation, Miller decided to buy a Land Bank home on the North Side that had been abandoned for 15 years. With the help of Campbell, Miller hopes to build her new dream home by this fall, all while using reclaimed materials and staying mindful not to “over-renovate.”

After her home is renovated, Miller hopes to purchase more Syracuse real estate to revitalize in the future.

“Gary isn’t scared of the distressed,” Miller said. “When I showed him what I wanted to renovate, he stayed super solid about it and his confidence about the project made me feel really good.”

While maintaining a profitable business to support his family is important to Campbell, he believes construction is about more than making money.

He takes pride in his company image. He pays attention to detail and finishes the job, whether it results in a net positive or a net loss.

“As a contractor, you have to love the trade. You can’t just love the money,” Campbell said. “The most important thing is that whoever buys the house, they’re happy and the community benefits from it.”

Beyond serving clients, Campbell also focuses on educating — teaching carpentry and promoting formal trade training to those who are willing to work. He’s watched those that he’s trained go from knowing nothing about woodworking to getting certifications themselves.

“What we need is more small businesses that exist not just to make money from the community, but help build it and share the skill with others,” Campbell said.

As Campbell steps onto the nearly-finished sun porch of the house on Mosley Drive, he now sees neighbors he didn’t know before. From the two women up the street who’ve asked for help with their home, and the neighbor with the dog that always barks in the backyard, all have complimented the work he’s done to bring the house back to life.

“It’s a big world with a lot of selfish people, but we don’t need to be,” Campbell said. “God gave me a mission, to help people. That’s what I do.”

Published on April 22, 2025 at 1:05 am