A few dozen Syracuse residents gathered in Goldstein Student Center Tuesday night to voice their complaints about the possible construction of five privately funded dormitories on South Campus.

Residents in neighborhoods surrounding South raised concerns about the prospect of more construction in their neighborhoods. Their chief worries were the elimination of ‘green space,’ increased traffic and increased drainage problems. They also questioned the fate of the duplexes in the Southeast neighborhood in which many students currently reside.

Large trees would be cut down in the construction process, while spans of open land would be eliminated, driving the concerns over decreased ‘green space.’

‘I don’t understand why the university is taking away ‘green space’ when they’re for sustainability,’ one resident said during the forum.

The proposed housing project, tentatively planned to break ground in the spring, includes five residential facilities and a recreation facility. The buildings would be luxury apartments, reserved for upperclassmen only.

In this privately funded project, Syracuse University would lease the land to Allen and O’Hara, the commercial construction company that proposed the project, for about 40 years. The facility would be maintained and managed by the company while in compliance with SU’s housing regulations, creating a hybrid alternative for students.

Each residence hall is slated to be three stories high and built 30 feet from East Colvin Street. The facilities would house a maximum of 432 students and would have parking spaces for three-quarters of its residents. The estimated price per bed – including utilities and other services – would be about $750 per month, considerably more than most off-campus housing options.

Many residents felt that the buildings might be an eye-sore because they would be so close to the road. They agreed that the architecture and materials used on the building should replicate the style of houses in the neighborhoods.

One woman said that if the contractors did not include plans for a fence and trees, she would protest and stop the construction.

Bill Harris, president of Allen and O’Hara, said that working landscaping into the plans was a possibility.

Another common apprehension among residents was that the number of parking spaces would intensify the already congested traffic conditions. They also complained that an increase of students living on South would swarm their neighborhoods with young drivers.

‘This is traffic going through our neighborhood,’ said another resident during the forum. ‘This is traffic that goes zipping by, not with concern to residents.’

A Lancaster Avenue resident said that as a mother and pet owner, she is already concerned because students drive at high speeds, often ignoring stop signs on her street.

Harris responded to the concerns by saying that state law requires parking spaces for at least three-quarters of residents. He also mentioned that a traffic study will be a part of the pre-construction process.

Many residents mentioned their concern with drainage. They said their streets flood in the spring and worried that this problem would worsen with new construction.

A university operated water-retention pond would be capable of preventing any runoff from the dorms, Harris said.

‘Drainage studies are being undertaken now,’ he said. ‘The basic stipulation of these studies is that there will be zero additional runoff coming out of that retention base.’

Additionally, residents were distressed over the future property value, demanding to know who would move into the off-campus duplexes that students currently rent if there were a large upper-classman migration to South.

Beth Rougeux, SU executive director of government and community relations, did not directly address the homeowners’ concerns, but said she had received many petitions and letters in an effort to move students back on campus.

And this new development was one result.

Though the meeting addressed many concerns, residents said they thought there were many alternative solutions to the housing dilemma. Rougeux promised the group that more meetings would be held to further discuss the issue.

Before adjourning, one resident said in disapproval: ‘I’m not truly satisfied with anything I’ve heard tonight.’

Published on October 30, 2007 at 12:00 pm