Syracuse, N.Y. — A development group plans to turn the historic C.G. Meaker Food Co. warehouse on Erie Boulevard West into a mix of apartments and commercial space.

The group has filed plans with the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency to build 33 market-rate apartments, including four loft-style units, on the upper three floors of the four-story warehouse at 538 Erie Blvd. W. It plans to build 8,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor.

The building is two blocks south of Leavenworth Park and a surrounding residential neighborhood along Park Avenue that includes five restored Victorian homes known as the "Five Sisters."

"It's close to downtown without being right in the middle of downtown," said attorney Timothy Lynn, one of five investors who have formed 538 Erie Boulevard West LLC for the $5.3 million project.

Monthly rents for the apartments will range from $1,100 to $2,000, he said.

Lynn's other partners in the project are contractors Richard and Luke Esposito, real estate agent Robert Lawson and financial analyst Joseph Gehm.

The project continues a trend in which long-vacant or underutilized buildings in and around downtown Syracuse have been redeveloped as mixed-use buildings with a combination of apartments and commercial space.

The building was constructed in 1930 at the northeast corner of Erie Boulevard West and Leavenworth Avenue, five years after the Erie Canal was filled in and made into Erie Boulevard. The 53,000-square-foot building was initially used as a grocery distribution facility by C.G. Meaker Food Co. and was later used for storage by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Plans to build an addition to the west side of the building were dropped in the 1930s because of the Depression. Concrete girders extend about two feet from the building, apparently to make it easier to build the expansion.

All-State Stamping Corp. took over the building in 1964. A variety of other businesses shared space with All-State, but the metal parts manufacturer remained in the building until moving to Lakeland in 2001.

The Scolaro law firm announced plans in August 2001 to renovate and move into the building. It later dropped those plans and instead moved to leased offices in Franklin Square.

The Meaker building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

Though the building is still structurally sound, its roof leaks and has vegetation growing from it. Parts of the lower portions of the building's concrete facade have fallen off.

Besides a complete interior renovation, the development group plans to repair and clean the exterior. Lynn said the group would like to build balconies on the west side of the building where the concrete girders extend from the structure. However, it's not known whether the state Historic Preservation Office would allow the addition of balconies because they are not original to the building, he said.

The development group will need the Preservation Office's approval for the project because it plans to seek historic preservation tax credits.

Lynn said the work will start this year and should be completed by April of next year.

The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency voted 5-0 on Tuesday to approve sales tax and mortgage recording tax exemptions worth approximately $245,000 for the project.

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