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The Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center will be primarily open to second-year students once it is converted into a residence hall, a university spokesperson told The Daily Orange.

“At this time, we expect the new hall to be a part of the annual housing selection process, primarily housing second-year students,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to The D.O.

SU’s Board of Trustees granted approval for the conversion project — set to begin after commencement in spring 2024 — last week. Some further details of the dorm’s layout are unclear as of now.

The spokesperson could not provide further information about the details of the conversion due to the recent approval of the project. The Sheraton has amenities like bars, an indoor pool, a fitness center, lounges, conference rooms and ballrooms, according to its website. It is not clear how these amenities will fit into the university’s conversion project.

SU students have been living in the Sheraton since last fall when SU expanded non-traditional off-campus housing options after more freshmen than expected accepted admissions offers. There were 4,100 students in 2022-2023’s freshmen class, 400 more than expected, Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a September 2022 University Senate meeting.

Additionally, the Sheraton has “a number” of rooms for guests with disabilities that will in turn be available to students with disabilities who have approved housing accommodations through SU’s Center for Disability Resources, the spokesperson said.

With the loss of the Sheraton’s 235 hotel rooms, lodging for SU-related stays and other events, such as alumni and parents’ weekends, conferences and sports games poses a challenge. Besides the Sheraton, the nearest hotels to SU’s Campus are Collegian Hotel & Suites, Hotel Skyler and Crowne Plaza. Plans to convert the Collegian Hotel & Suites into independent off-campus student housing were canceled in May. There are four other hotels in downtown Syracuse.

“In the near-term, the University plans to work with local hotels to secure room blocks during large campus-wide events, including providing for transportation between those hotels and campus locations,” the spokesperson wrote.

SU bought the Sheraton in 2000. Since then, SU has expanded its footprint in the areas surrounding campus, especially on South Crouse Avenue. It bought the former The Marshall apartment complex, which is now known as 727 S. Crouse Ave., in July 2021 for nearly $70 million. SU also bought 732-40, 742, 746 and 802 South Crouse Ave. — properties that include Varsity Pizza and Faegan’s Pub — in July 2022 as part of a $12 million deal.

SU purchased properties in the university neighborhood area too. In 2019, SU demolished The Daily Orange’s former office at 744 Ostrom Ave. as well as other buildings on the block. SU bought the former Phi Gamma Delta house at 727 Comstock Ave. in 2022. It also acquired and demolished properties in the 800 block of Comstock Avenue.

When it demolished the properties, SU had “no specific plans” for what to do with them, as of October 2022.

The Sheraton conversion, along with these other property changes, is part of SU’s Campus Framework, which was released in May 2017. The framework is a 20-year plan for potential future development on and around campus that aligns with the recently finalized Academic Strategic Plan.

The spaces on Ostrom and Comstock Avenues that SU bought and cleared are pinned as potential new student housing locations in the framework with two new dorms in mock-up illustrations. The framework identifies “campus building opportunities” on the same block as the Sheraton.

​​The Board of Trustees Special Committee on University Climate, Diversity and Inclusion proposed in a 2021 report that SU centralize all student housing on North campus to meet student needs and desires, therefore getting rid of or decreasing South campus housing options.

Because of its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization, SU does not pay property taxes to the city of Syracuse. The university does not pay federal or state income tax or sales tax either.

Further decisions about the conversion process will be made leading up to the start of construction, the spokesperson said.

Published on November 15, 2023 at 11:24 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu