Planning Commission

City board approves design plans for National Veterans Resource Complex

Courtesy of Syracuse University

Jennifer Champa Bybee, assistant director for Syracuse University’s campus planning, confirmed that a Centro bus stop at the corner of Marshall Street and South Crouse Avenue will continue operating.

By Sam Ogozalek

A signature component of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s Campus Framework project cleared a major hurdle Monday after the city’s Planning Commission voted to approve the site plan for a proposed veterans complex near the intersection of South Crouse and Waverly avenues.

Commission members, in a 3-1 vote, approved designs for the National Veterans Resource Complex, a $62.5 million project aimed at centralizing SU’s military and veterans programs.

“This is the university’s number one building priority right now,” said Jennifer Champa Bybee, assistant director for campus planning.

At a commission meeting Monday evening, Bybee confirmed that a Centro bus stop at the corner of Marshall Street and South Crouse Avenue will continue operating after the NVRC is built.

John Barrett, a senior associate at New York City-based SHoP Architects, also showed commission members a handful of renderings of the future structure. The building will feature large modern glass facades. SHoP Architects won a competition last year to design the NVRC.



George Curry, a commission member, wasn’t satisfied with the university’s presentation.

“I’m not against this project, I just want to see the details,” said Curry, a distinguished teaching professor at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Curry specializes in landscape architecture.

Curry requested more information on the NVRC’s landscaping. Barrett said ginkgo trees and maple trees will be planted in some spots.

City staff confirmed a university-specific zoning district in the area does not contain any architectural standards. Curry voted against the project, though.

SU now plans to request an encroachment permit for the NVRC. Bybee said that permit, needed to encroach upon any public space, might require Common Council approval. There is no timetable yet for the permit, Bybee said. Officials have planned landscaping improvements in city street rights-of-way, records show.

The project’s anticipated completion date was pushed back to the spring 2020 semester because fundraising efforts took longer than expected. SU initially expected to finish the complex by the spring or summer of 2019.

University officials have said they expect construction to start by January. Programs including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families will be housed at the NVRC.





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