The New York State Department of Transportation’s project to remove the Interstate 81 viaduct will free up nearly 12 acres of valuable land in the city’s Southside — which has caused a yearslong debate among stakeholders, residents and others about ownership of the land.
Residents, advocates and city officials have their own visions for the use of this potentially developable land: It could be put back on city tax rolls to generate revenue for the cash-strapped municipality, it could be used to repair the harm done to the historic 15th Ward residents when the highway was built and it could invite more retail business and housing into the area.
They also disagree on who the best steward for the land would be: the city of Syracuse or New York state. The land is largely believed to be located in the historic 15th Ward, where Leon and South McBride Streets meet Martin Luther King W, according to city-hired planning consultants Dover Kohl & Partners…