Developers begin environmental cleanup for senior apartments in new East Adams neighborhood

Developers have started cleaning up a 2.5-acre vacant lot where they intend to build senior apartments for the second phase of the new East Adams neighborhood, near the Interstate 81 viaduct.

The block is just south of McKinney Manor, where 25 apartment units have been torn down to make way for the first phase of the project.

The vacant lot is owned by the Syracuse Housing Authority. SHA with McCormack Baron Salazar, a Missouri developer, plans to build 125 new apartments for low-income seniors on the site. Construction on the new four-story building at the corner of Burt and South State streets is expected to begin in January, according to Allyson Carpenter, vice president of development for MBS.

It is part of a massive $1 billion plan to tear down nearly 700 units of public housing along the elevated Interstate 81bridges, which will also come down over the next three years. Overall, the plan is to build 1,351 new units for current residents and new tenants paying market-rate rent.

The first three phases of the East Adams project are expected to bring 404 new apartments online by the end of 2027 on blocks where just 50 apartments are torn down. The idea is to move residents from vacated apartments in McKinney Manor and Pioneer Homes into the new buildings so the older units can be razed.

But first, the parcel on Burt Street needs to be cleaned up.

Since the late 1800s, the site has had residential buildings, carriage manufacturing and painting, carpenter shops, a stone works yard, bridge manufacturing, a clothing factory, a scrap metal yard, a gas station, a chapel, an upholstery shop, a paper baling facility and auto repair, according to an environmental report submitted to the state.

From 1961 to 2003, it was used by the Salvation Army for a thrift store. The housing authority bought the site in 2003 and demolished most of the buildings. Since then, they have used it as a parking lot, the report said.

Crews from the firm the environmental firm Langan Engineering started cleanup about two weeks ago.

Early environmental studies showed several contaminants exceed state standards.

That includes vaporous chemicals and metals in the soil and groundwater. These are likely attributed to historic uses of the site, including the gas station with petroleum storage tanks, the report said.

“Nothing to be afraid of because we’re getting rid of it all,” said Brian Gochenaur, associate principal for Langan.

They have already found an empty 1,000-gallon tank, likely used by the gas station.

The tank and layers of soil will be removed to meet state safety standards for residential property, he said.

During the cleanup, the firm is conducting air monitoring to be sure no vapors or dust are contaminating the neighborhood, he said.

As an extra step, they plan to add a vapor mitigation system to the building to protect residents, he said.

Developers are using $3.7 million from the state’s Brownfield tax credit program and $3.5 million from a federal grant to clean up the property. They have not yet closed on the housing tax credits they will use for the building, Carpenter said.