Syracuse University to pay higher road closure fee for dorm projects
Syracuse University will pay a higher road-closure fee for new residence halls, after a Monday Common Council revision. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
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Syracuse University will pay a higher road closure fee for all current and future commercial building projects, including SU’s new residence halls, following a Monday Common Council revision.
Approved in a 5-4 vote, SU will now have to pay $1.7 million in city permit fees, including more than $650,000 in road closure charges.
The months-long debate over the city’s road closure fee pricing began over the impacts of SU’s recent residence hall developments, specifically the closure of a block of Comstock Avenue, requiring a mandatory detour on Ostrom Avenue and Marshall Street.
Some lawmakers expected the city to charge SU around $5 million for the closure of Comstock, syracuse.com reported.
“We value and appreciate our partnership with the city and look forward to continuing to move these important projects forward,” SU spokeswoman Sarah Scalese told syracuse.com after Monday’s revision.
The revised system determines fees by measuring the number of lanes blocked off and the duration of closure. Fees are increased when two or more lanes are closed and when closure lasts over 90 or 180 days.
SU previously spent six months paying fees for the project based on square footage of road occupied by material and equipment prior to the revision.
Although the city will now receive $1.7 million in road closure fees, SU can receive $1.2 million in non-refundable fees if all closed streets and sidewalks are restored to their original conditions upon reopening.
The upcoming Comstock dorm will include 580 beds and stand 10 stories high. It will be one of three new dorms, with two other projects on Waverly and Ostrom Avenues.
The Comstock and Waverly dorms will neighbor each other, with a new dining hall being constructed in the Waverly building. The Waverly dorm will be located where the demolished Marion and Kimmel Hall once stood. The Comstock dorm occupies the space of a demolished parking garage.
The construction of the new dorms is a part of SU’s push to allow “every future sophomore” to live on the school’s main campus, Vice President and Chief Campus Facilities Officer Pete Sala said.
In addition, all three halls will consist of more quad and triple dorm rooms, rather than doubles and singles to reflect shifting student demands. The new dorm buildings will also include air conditioning units.
In addition to the increased road closure fees, SU has already spent over $1 million on building permits and site work for the new dorms.
SU borrowed over half a billion dollars from the Onondaga Civic Development Corporation in order to pay for the building projects.
All three projects are expected to be completed by the fall 2027 semester.
