More progress on the controversial aquarium project will be seen in Syracuse's Inner Harbor in 2024. Site preparation for the $85 million dollar project is nearly finished.
The timeline is clearer now that the property along Solar Street in the Inner Harbor is ready for construction, according to Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.
"The site works actually almost done," McMahon said. "That's Phase I in construction. The design, it will be fully complete in March and April. Then we will go bid out for our general contractor for the actual physical construction that you're looking for. And so that project will be completed September of 2025."
The project will be paid for with excess COVID-19 relief funds. It barely passed the Onondaga County Legislature, with some opponents bringing up environmental concerns about the quality of the property. McMahon has championed the project as a way to bring people into Onondaga County and redevelop acres of underused property in the Inner Harbor. He expects housing to be the first projects on the land, followed by more commercial plans.
"That type of commercial will happen with people and density, right?" McMahon said. "The aquarium is going to bring people, and so that's going to help further develop the commercial uses around the Inner Harbor.”
He expects that will start with housing getting a boost from lower interest rates expected in 2024.
"That makes things a little bit more attractive to get in the large-scale redevelopment," McMahon said. "And, you know, so I think we're going to see some things happen over there in the housing front."
