Syracuse, N.Y. – Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon is opposing a company’s proposal to restart a long-dormant concrete plant two blocks from a $100 million aquarium the county is building at the Syracuse Inner Harbor.
Heidelberg Materials, one of the world’s leading producers of cement and ready-mixed concrete, has applied to the city for a special permit and site plan approval to reopen the concrete batch plant at 411 and 421 Spencer St.
The plant, which is owned by Capital District Concrete Batch Inc., shut down years ago and has fallen into disrepair.
McMahon told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard the proposal goes against his and the city’s years-long efforts to redevelop Syracuse’s once heavily industrialized lakefront area.
“It’s something more a use of the neighborhood’s past than its future,” he said. “We have a $100 million investment at the aquarium, and there are plans for a dynamic new neighborhood on the lakefront.”
He said he has offered to help the company find a more appropriate location to make concrete.
To open at the Syracuse site, the company must get the city to approve a site plan and a special permit, which would allow Heidelberg to turn the machines back on.
Without the special permit and site plan approval, Heidelberg cannot reopen the concrete plant.
As county executive, McMahon cannot reject Heidelberg’s application. The decision to approve or disapprove of the company’s proposal is the city’s to make, but McMahon can bring his political influence to the discussion.
The taxpayer-funded aquarium, scheduled for opening next summer, is part of McMahon’s efforts to speed up the transformation of the Inner Harbor, a former state Barge Canal terminal, into a residential, commercial and tourism attraction. The harbor is already home to a hotel, an apartment building and a brewery tap room.
Heidelberg’s proposal has also drawn the ire of a prominent real estate developer who has rebuilt multiple buildings on Spencer Street area, including the Preserve restaurant near the concrete plant.
Developer Len Montreal said the plant would bring heavy truck traffic, diesel fumes, industrial dust and constant noise into the community, putting families, children and public spaces at risk.
“It’s unbelievable they would even consider reactivating that concrete plant,” he said. “Nobody wants it. It’s the most idiotic thing you can imagine.”
But a spokesperson for Heidelberg defended the proposal, saying it represented an opportunity to “bring new life, and a clean and safe look, to this property.”
“Along with the general cleanup of this area, our proposed new plant will provide around 15 direct jobs at the facility with associated offices and contribute to economic growth through our use of local vendors, merchants, suppliers, and service providers,” Jeff Sieg, director of corporate communications for Heidelberg, wrote in an emailed response to a request for comment.
The Spencer Street facility contains two concrete batch plants. In its application, Heidelberg said it would demolish one of them because of its age, and repair and paint the remaining facility. A drive-thru truck loading area near the road would be closed to avoid backups on Spencer Street and to reduce noise and dust emissions, the company said.
Dust collection systems, including a reverse air system and modern bag-house filters for silos, would be installed, according to the company’s application.
The plant would run 24 hours a day Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
Sieg said the location near Interstate 690 is ideal because the company will be able to transport concrete to area job sites more efficiently, reducing truck traffic in the city center and lowering costs for public and private construction projects.
“Heidelberg Materials is committed to being a responsible operator and a good neighbor, and we prioritize the health and safety of our employees and surrounding community,” he said.
Other activities proposed for the site include offices, employee and fleet parking, aggregate storage, and laboratory facilities.
Heidelberg’s proposal was scheduled to go before the Syracuse Planning Board Oct. 20 but was pulled from the agenda. Sol Muñoz, a spokesperson for the city, said the company asked that the hearing be postponed.
At its Oct. 15 meeting, the Onondaga County Planning Board took no position on the proposal but warned that the concrete plant may not be compatible with the existing or planned development in the area.
The county board suggested city planners request additional information regarding, among other things, noise impacts from the facility and trucks, dust from exterior operations, storage of potentially dangerous bulk chemicals, and the impact on traffic and road surfaces.
It said the proposed use will generate an increased volume of heavy vehicle traffic that “can negatively impact the condition of roadways and will place truck traffic within mixed-use neighborhoods and tourism districts.”
Formerly Lehigh Hanson Inc., Heidelberg supplies cement, aggregates, and ready mixed concrete and asphalt. It employs 9,000 people and has more than 450 locations in North America, including the Jamesville Quarry and Skaneateles Quarry and a concrete plant in Nedrow.
