Private developer Cameron Group LLC is seeking tax-exempt status for the top floors of a proposed building. Cameron Group would lease the space for a bookstore and fitness center to Syracuse University. The planned building, with a potential cost of $20 million, would be 85,000 square feet and located on 601 University Ave.

Cameron Group would lease 92 percent of the building back to SU but has asked SIDA to exempt the 92 percent from property taxes, according to an article published online June 22 by The Post-Standard. Property taxes on the building would be about $535,000 a year and the exemption Cameron Group is seeking would amount to about $492,200 a year, according to the article.

SIDAís vote on the tax-exemption request was postponed during a public meeting June 21. Board member Catherine Richardson asked fellow members to consider postponing the vote to think more about the decision, and three out of four members were in favor of delaying the vote, according to the article.

The tax-exemption request has been questioned due to the involvement of the private developer. During the public meeting, concerns were raised about a tax exemption for a for-profit company and the effect the building will have on local retailers on Marshall Street.

John Gamage, SIDA board member and former assessment commissioner, disagreed with the possibility of a tax exemption for the project because he feels the private, for-profit developer should pay property taxes regardless of who rents the space, according to the article.

SIDA is continuing its talks with the developer, said Ben Walsh, executive director of SIDA. These discussions take place in attempts to arrive at a mutually agreeable decision for the proposed project because the problem comes down to a basic issue of taxation, he said.

Walsh said it is hoped the request will be presented again at the SIDA board meeting Sept. 20.

There is flexibility in a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the project, Walsh said. Tom Valenti, a partner of Cameron Group, offered to pay a one-time fee of $250,000 to the city of Syracuse in exchange for a PILOT agreement with a 30-year property tax exemption on the portion of the building leased to SU, according to The Post-Standard article.

A new, larger bookstore on University Avenue would be a little less congested than the current bookstore and would benefit the school and other vendors, said Christine Yankou, a senior political science major. A new fitness center would also be beneficial because students wouldnít have to travel too far to go, Yankou said.

Walsh said he hopes a decision is made in the future that acknowledges the value of the project to the Syracuse community.

He said: ìThere is value to getting a bigger, better bookstore with more private retail options.î

brvannos@syr.edu