Hawthorn Suites to open in May at Dome Hotel site

SYRACUSE - After more than a decade of inactivity and slow deterioration, the long-vacant, former Dome Hotel in downtown Syracuse's Armory Square is only months away from reopening. This spring, it will re-emerge as a 60-unit Hawthorn Suites franchised hotel. According to Steven Busch, chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Brandy-Wein Hospitality, the company that will manage the hotel, the Hawthorn Suites Syracuse is scheduled to open in May. The $4.2 million project is being "so well received by the surrounding business community, it's unbelievable," says Busch, who adds that the hotel will "fill in a huge hole in Armory Square and be a real boost to other businesses downtown."

Jim Lorenzo, chief economic development officer for the City's Economic Development Department, recently said, "The retrofitting and regentrification of that entire comer is obviously critical to the continued redevelopment of the Armory Square area. This is a muchneeded hotel, particularly because of the city's convention business. All the way around, it's a great project to support the business community."

Irwin L. Davis, executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York, is all for the hotel refurbishment project. In fact, the MDA played a vital role in helping to rehabilitate the former Dome Hotel. The Metropolitan Development Foundation, an MDA affiliate corporation, was the recipient of a state grant for building stabilization and also took title to the property from the city on an interim basis, for eventual transfer to a preferred developer. Davis said, "The [old Dome Hotel] project is not important just for Armory Square, but all of downtown. It's the last major piece of property in Armory Square to be redeveloped - and we're finally going to get it. I think it's an exciting and important project for the city of Syracuse."

The 800-square-foot suites will include full kitchens, free Internet access, and room service from some of the best restaurants in downtown Syracuse, says Busch. Several suites will include fireplaces as well. "We're really going to be focused on service," says Busch. "If a customer requests a Nordic Trac, we'll bring one to their suite. If a customer forgets his or her computer, we'll give them a computer and laser-jet printer for the length of their stay."

Busch adds that the hotel is ideally located and says that he expects a lot of business travelers to stay at the hotel, as well as people coming to Syracuse for events such as conventions at the Oncenter and annual arts, antiques, and music festivals.

The 11-story, flat-roofed landmark was built in 1927 and named the JeffersonClinton Hotel because of its location at the intersection of Clinton and Jefferson streets. The lack of banquet facilities and meeting rooms made it difficult for the' hotel to compete with other established facilities such as the Hotel Syracuse and the Onondaga Hotel, and soon the Jefferson/Clinton was reputed to have an unsavory clientele. In 1992, a fire damaged part of the interior. Shortly afterward, the property was foreclosed on, then seized for back taxes by the city.

In early 1999, the city agreed in principle to sell the property to Jefferson/Clinton Hotel LLC, a group led by Joseph Hucko, president of Washington Street Partners. On Dec. 13, 1999, the deal was finalized when Jefferson/Clinton Hotel LLC agreed to pay $24,717.29 to the Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency in back taxes.