Tuesday, August 29, 2006
By Nancy Buczek
Staff writer

The National Grid building on Erie Boulevard West will glow orange while Syracuse Connective Corridor designs are displayed around town, including in the building’s windows.

“This project is about stepping forward and moving into the future,” said William Edwards, president of New York Distribution, National Grid, at the Monday display of the four finalists’ design concepts.

National Grid gave the project $1 million, which is paying for the design competition that will result in a team’s selection for developing the corridor. The corridor is proposed to link SU and downtown with a pedestrian walkway and bus route.

The four design concepts will be displayed at five locations, and interactive kiosks provided by Time Warner Cable, another project sponsor, will allow people to submit thoughts about the designs. A public symposium is planned Sept. 21 at The Everson Museum of Art showcasing the designs.

Former SU Chancellor Kenneth “Buzz” Shaw was one of the more than 100 people gathered outside National Grid Monday for a first look at the display. He said he likes the corridor idea, especially the project’s partnerships that have formed.

“I think it’s the concept that’s beautiful,” said Shaw, who is chairman of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York.

SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor, who envisioned the corridor, said she hopes the public uses the kiosks to weigh in on the designs.

“This will mark the city and the Hill for many years to come so we are really taking seriously the input,” she said.

The four finalist teams are led by architectural firms Deborah Berke and Partners, Field Operations, the Rockwell Group and Sasaki Architects. Each team includes architects, urban planners and other design professionals.

Field Operations and Sasacki Architects have both incorporated local people or firms into their teams. The designs are not being identified by team to avoid favoritism.

An eight-person committee selected by Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll and Cantor selected the finalists and will recommend a team to Driscoll, who makes the final decision. SU and the city are partnering on the project because federal guidelines require that the $13.6 million that Rep. James Walsh and Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton secured for the project be released to a municipality.