水果派AV

Bryan Bowers and Michael Licata, president and vice president of Bowers Development of East Syracuse, told council that rehabilitating the historic art deco theater was delayed by the restrictions on public gatherings during the pandemic. For instance, two banks that had given the developer verbal commitments to finance the project backed out due to those restrictions, Licata said.

The restrictions themselves also made it wise to suspend construction work on the Schine, Licata continued.

"When you finish a project and it's vacant for prolonged periods of time, it deteriorates faster than an occupied project," he said. "We had no idea when we were all going to be coming back."

Now, with COVID-19 subsiding, the rehabilitation project is back on schedule, Licata said. After a separate delay involving construction drawings, architectural and engineering services should be completed over the next three months. Bowers has awarded engineering services to M/E Engineering, of Rochester, and acoustical services to Jaffe Holden, of Boston.

The developer,聽which has received a new financing commitment,聽is also close to awarding a contract for rehabilitating the theater's deteriorating marquee. Construction should begin around Labor Day, with the marquee removed and rehabilitated this fall and winter. The theater's vertical blade sign, which was removed in 1970 and remains unaccounted for, will be reconstructed as well.

Bowers hopes to reopen the theater in fall 2023, around the Sept. 15 anniversary of its 1938 opening, Licata said.

While the almost 25-year rehabilitation project has been delayed once again, Bowers has achieved some progress since buying the Schine from the Cayuga County Arts Council in December 2018, Licata told council. Asbestos, lead and other waste have been removed from the theater, the roof has been replaced and the masonry has been repaired to "button up" the building from the elements.

"It's like growing bamboo," Licata said of the rehabilitation project. "The root systems for bamboo grow for five years before you see a shoot. Really, a lot of work has already gone on."

Also, with permission from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Schine's approximately 1,700 moldy, rusted seats have been removed. The office holds a preservation covenant on the theater through July 25, 2036, as a condition of grant money the state has previously awarded the project, so the state must approve any and all changes there.

Bowers' presentation began with an overview of some of the developer's successful and in-progress rehabilitations of environmentally contaminated commercial properties in Utica, Syracuse and Rome. The presentation ended with the firm's president taking questions from city councilors, at which time some more details about the Schine project were made known.

Asked by Councilor Jimmy Giannettino how the developer plans to operate the theater once the project is done, Bowers revealed his firm was in talks with six potential operators before COVID-19 began. Bowers is still talking with some of those operators, he continued, as well as other theaters with whom the Schine could collaborate to host programming.

In response to other questions, Bowers reiterated that the Schine will be rehabilitated to host a wide array of events, from concerts and comedy to movies and even weddings. The project still has a budget of about $6 million, he said, $1 million of which has been invested already. The developer received $800,000 from the city's Community Development Block Grant funds for asbestos remediation.

Bowers also alluded to the two state grants that will support the project: $1.2 million through the Regional Economic Development Council, and a $1 million Restore NY grant awarded to the city on the project's behalf. The developer has not yet received that money, as like most grants it is given in the form of reimbursement upon providing the state proof of expense.

With the last question of the presentation, Giannettino asked Bowers to be more proactive about explaining any future delays in the Schine project should the developer encounter them.

"We'd actually like to volunteer now to come back in October or November," Bowers said. "I think there's going to be a lot of progress by that point and we hope to share a lot more information."