Rose Picon, Staff Writer

Architects are often stereotyped as stylists, focusing more on their vision or design than communal responsibilities. Many architects, however, acknowledge that they have tremendous potential to improve the economic conditions of cities in America. The Front, a student-run initiative of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), is a group that is aware of its ability to make positive changes in their community and is using its talents to revitalize downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse, like many metropolitan areas, has vacant real estate dotting the city – some estimates have 1,000,000 square feet lying dormant. The Front saw the potential in these empty buildings and in April of 2010, they created Storefront, a project that aims to gussy up these spaces and transform them into art studios, small offices, clothing stores, design boutiques, or even ice cream parlors. The Front hopes that this will help influence a trend of positive economic growth and get people interested in investing in the city.

When finished, these available spots will look suave: they will be clean, contemporary spaces that will serve as a suitable backdrop for a wide range of commercial tenants. Nilus Klingel, a fifth-year student in SU’s architecture program, is the executive director of The Front. “One of the biggest obstacles to economic investment is the poor quality of available spaces that are clean, modern, and ready-to-go,” he explains. “Other obstacles can be a lack of imagination about where to set up shop or what sort of endeavor to start.”

The Front also identifies the importance of being involved in the life of our city and has been inspired by the “scholarship in action” vision that SU’s chancellor Nancy Cantor has laid out as a pathway for engagement with the community. The Front saw Storefront as a perfect opportunity to use its architectural training to do something real and tangible.  “We have no illusions about single-handedly ‘saving Syracuse,’ ” Klingel states, “but we do want to use our skills and creativity in the service of our city.” To advance projects, they’ve received funding through both an SU Orange Tree grant and AIAS.

Though Storefront is meant to attain a deeper connection with Syracuse and help local businesses flourish, Klingel asserts that “perhaps most importantly, we hope the residents of downtown – and by extension the entire community of Syracuse – through its involvement in this project, will benefit from a dialogue with the architecture students, professors and practitioners whom are involved in design and revitalization efforts in the city.”

While The Front is in the process of building, it plans to use the vacant spaces to host exhibitions, debates, and events that will inform the community and student organizations from Syracuse University about urban issues. You can check out the Storefront at 217 East Genesee Street, just steps off the Connective Corridor bus route, and read about its work and progress here.