Syracuse University will partially fund the redesign of Forman Park, on East Genesee Street in downtown Syracuse, starting fall 2010 as part of its Connective Corridor project.

The renovations include rebuilding the park’s fountain and expanding the police monument and landscape work. Both the city and the university will fund the project, said Marilyn Higgins, vice president of community engagement and economic development.

The project will cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, with approximately $500,000 coming from the city and the rest coming from New York state grants the university was awarded over a year ago for the Connective Corridor program, said Steve Kearney, deputy director of planning for the city.

Construction on the fountain will begin in the fall, and the majority of the renovations will take place during the spring and summer of 2011, Kearney said.

Though the plans for the project are now taking shape, preliminary designs are not yet complete. The involved groups hope to have them finished in time for the city Common Council meeting May 24, Kearney said.

Forman Park was chosen because it is in the center of the corridor, it houses sculptures created by students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, it is close to Syracuse Stage, and is in an area surrounded by local restaurants and other businesses, Higgins said.

VPA will also be involved in the redesign because Forman Park has historically housed sculptures made by SU students, Kearney said.

The city had decided to spend $500,000 on the East Genesee corridor area about a year ago and later joined with SU and the Connective Corridor project, which was focused to work on the same area, Kearney said.

“Without the Connective Corridor project we would not be able to redesign,” Kearney said. “This is a very good example of how the Connective Corridor works with the city.”

The park already has a police monument that was constructed shortly after Sept. 11 to honor those who died that day, and it will now be expanded to honor the police officers of Onondaga County, said Peter Ruszcvak of the Syracuse police union.

The Syracuse Police Department is selling bricks for $75 that will be used in the monument to Onondaga County police and their families as a fundraising effort.

Improvements to the monument will include a new walkway and benches, Ruszczak said.

The university is engaged with this project in other ways. The Office of Community Engagement and Economic Development is coordinating with SU’s Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and other campus groups to participate in the citywide clean-up planned for Earth Day this Saturday, said Michael Short, deputy director of the Near Westside Initiative.

Student volunteers will meet at the park on Saturday at noon to pick up garbage, and a similar event is being planned for the following Saturday at the Near Westside, Short said.

“It’s important for students to get involved in the community,” Short said. “The more they do, the more opportunities will open up for them.”

 

Published on April 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm