Dick Blume

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Dennis Nett

More people are living downtown

Downtown Syracuse is experiencing a rebirth as it moves from a 9-5 office center that became a ghost town after working hours to a neighborhood with condos and apartments.

"It's very much turning into a residential neighborhood," said Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse.

Downtown has 1,826 market-rate apartments and condos, with an additional 199 market-rate apartments currently under construction, she said. In the next year, there will be 2,025 market-rate apartments and condos downtown. The current occupancy rate is 99 percent, she said.

James and Jennifer Bort with Baxter are in this file photo from 2015. The family lives in the Lowes Building in downtown Syracuse.

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David Lassman

What do downtown residents want?

The Downtown Committee of Syracuse inventoried the neighborhood's current retail options and identified gaps in businesses that serve the 24-hour residential community. The committee asked lease agents and property owners what they'd like to see move into the neighborhood.

Based on that information, the committee complied a "wish list" of shops and services that its economic development team refers to in conversations with leasing agents and brokers who are looking for tenants for available space, to help shape the mix of offerings in the downtown, said Alice Maggiore, the committee's communications director.

The committee is asking residents to participate in a survey about the neighborhood.

What follows is the "wish list: for downtown.

We want to hear from you. What shops or services would you like to see move in downtown? You can post your comments below.

Outdoor dining at Otro Cinco on South Warren Street, Wed. May 11, 2016.

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Stephen D. Cannerelli

A store selling college clothing

A store selling collegiate merchandise.

The downtown's resident population has grown 43 percent in recent years, said Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse. About 40 percent of the people who live downtown work or study on The Hill, the home of SUNY-ESF, Syracuse University and SUNY-Upstate Medical University. They are doctors, medical residents, professors and students, she said.

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Ingram Publishing

Uniform store

A store selling uniforms

The downtown committee says with all those medical professionals living in downtown there's a need for a store selling uniforms.

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AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File

A pharmacy with later hours

Drug store open after hours, weekends

The downtown committee would like store owners to offer expanded hours by staying open after 6 p.m. and on weekends. One item on the wish list is a drug store with evening and weekend hours.

Customers leave a Walgreens pharmacy in Jackson, Miss. in 2013.

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Dennis Nett

Kid friendly-pet friendly restaurants

The downtown committee would like to see kid-friendly and pet-friendly restaurants in the downtown.

This is the sidewalk seating area for the Blue Tusk restaurant in Armory Square.

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Courtesy of OHA

A toy store

The committee would like to see more stores catering to children, such as a toy shop, a children's bookstore and a baby boutique.

This is the old Conde Toy Shop.

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David Lassman

Day care

The downtown committee's wish list includes more day care in the downtown neighborhood.

In this file photo, children at the Salvation Army Cab Horse Commons Day Care play before Syracuse Police Officer Dennis Burlingame reads a story to them, May 14, 2015. L-R; Jasiah Gary-Rodriguez and Renaya Clemons (both age 3).

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Ellen M. Blalock

A shop offering art classes

With so many people living downtown there is an opening in the market for a shop offering painting, pottery or craft classes, the committee said.

Jamie Noce, of Baldwinsville, is building Christmas ornaments on the wheel at Clayscapes Pottery in 2015.

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Nicholas Lisi

Craft store

A craft store, fabric or knit shop is also on downtown's wish list.

Shoppers wait for the A.C. Moore Arts & Craft store to open in this file photo.

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Kevin Tampone

A bookstore

The Downtown Committee would like a book store to locate in the downtown neighborhood to serve a growing residential population.

The inside of Jon Speed's bookstore on South Salina Street in Nedrow. Speed has been a used and rare book dealer for 20 years.

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Don Cazentre

A bakery

The committee would like to a bakery with longer hours to move into the downtown.

This photo features canolli at the Brighton Bakery.

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Dennis Nett

Grocery/ International market

There is a call for a grocery store or a market selling international foods in the downtown.

The Nojaim Brothers Supermarket on the Near Westside is the closest grocery store to the downtown neighborhood.

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John Walker

Stores selling smoothies, juice, wine or whiskey

Stores selling smoothies or juice, and those offering whiskey or wine tastings could find a ready market in the Downtown neighborhood, according to the committee.

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David Lassman

Pet groomer, pet store

There is also a need for businesses offering services to downtown residents.

A pet groomer and a pet supply store are also on the wish list.

The Chatty K-9 is a curbside certified professional dog grooming service operated by Roxane Baumbach and Donetta Gass from a self-contained climate controlled grooming van. Gidgit, a Jack Russell mix gets a bath during their first stop in Cicero on Oct. 2, 2014

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Dick Blume

Bike messenger

The call for a bike messenger is a look ahead, Treier said.

"We’ve had a significant number of new jobs announced in downtown (over 2,000 jobs announced this spring alone," she said. "As we move towards thinking about services-amenities available in larger cities, the bike messenger opportunity was brainstormed as an item to think ahead on with an eye toward the future, especially as bike share ideas have been discussed more frequently," Treier said.

In this file photo is cyclist Nate Rader, who used to be a bike messenger.

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Heather Bragman

Greeting card store

The wish list also includes a greeting card store and an office supply store.

This file photo features an animal greeting card created by a Wellwood Middle School student in Fayetteville.

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Jessica Ebelhar/The New York Times

An electronic repair shop

The Downtown Committee's wish list also includes shops that offer services. An electronics repair shop is included on the wish list.

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Kevin Tampone | ktampone@syracus

A beauty supply store

The committee wants a beauty supply store to open downtown.

This is Ulta Beauty, which has a store in Destiny USA.

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Provided by China Towne

Furniture store

A furniture store based in downtown is also on the wish list.

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C.W. McKeen

A downtown department store

A department store is also on the wish list. The Downtown Committee is looking for something like a Marshall's, which carries everything, Treier said.

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Rick Moriarty

Where does the new Hotel Syracuse fit in?

Some of the need for new services downtown is driven by the newly restored Hotel Syracuse, Treier said.

The hotel has told the Downtown Committee that it doesn't expect visitors to eat all their meals there, she said. Guests are looking to grab a meal in neighborhood restaurants, for stores to shop in and services needed by travelers, Treier said.

A Marriott sign has been replaced a Hotel Syracuse sign at the South Warren Street entrance to the historic, 92-year-old building. The hotel has reopened as the Marriott Syracuse Downtown after a $76 million renovation by new owner Ed Riley.

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MIke Greenlar

A newsstand for the southern edge of downtown

One of the services hotel and convention center guests would use is a newsstand, Treier said.

In this file photo from 2007, Alex Grabi of Syracuse is the night manager at the Empire News Stand at 189 Walton St. in Syracuse.

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Dick Blume

Dry cleaner, tailor, seamstress

The Downtown Committee sees a need for more dry cleaners, seamstresses and tailors to serve the southern edge of downtown near the Hotel Syracuse and the convention center.

In this file photo is Sam Vulcano, in back, owner of Swanson's Dry Cleaners in downtown Syracuse.

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