Destiny USA: The Future of The Syracuse Area!

"It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones." Machiavelli

It isn't often in business that an entrepreneur sets out both to enrich themselves and the world in which they live in. Many businesses operate on the principle of being mean and lean looking out only for their own interests. Bob Congel is an exception to this rule. It has been advertised that Congel was seeking “a project in the City of Syracuse that could be a catalyst for economic and environmental development of an entire community.” Being a local resident born and raised in the Syracuse area it makes sense that Congel wants to “Build a Better Community by Investing in Syracuse” as stated by a number of signs located in Carousel Center.

Since Bob Congel began investing in the Syracuse area back in the mid-eighties he has worked on ten individual projects to improve the Syracuse area. The majority of these projects are located on a 800 acre plot of land just south of Onondaga lake (Foderaro, 1990). Before Congel began cleaning up this 800 acre plot of land it was a toxic wasteland. The site contained oil tanks, scrap yards, toxic dump sites and corroding buildings, all of which were polluting the already uninhabitable Onondaga Lake.

The first and most noticeable of these project is the cleaning up of the Marley Scrap Yard, the site where Carousel Center is currently located. Second the removal of “Oil City” a site of which several pollutant heavy oil tanks were located and many millions of dollars spent towards the cleaning of the soil at these sites. Third the re-development of the Plum Court area of Syracuse. Fourth the development of Franklin Square from dilapidated eroding abandoned brick buildings into upscale lofts and condominiums. Next was the construction of the Franklin Park near Franklin Square. Sixth is a project labeled “The Creekwalk” a two-hundred thousand dollar investment in the walkways around the inner harbor area. Seventh is Bridgewater place, another eroding brick building which was converted into leasable commercial office space. The Clinton Exchange which is located in the center of Syracuse. The Clinton Exchange itself used to be the old post office in Syracuse until it was abandoned because of the high cost of renovation. The Pyramid Companies adopted the project of renewing the building to be the location of their headquarters. The ninth project that The Pyramid Companies did in the Syracuse area is the re-development of Mission Landing the location of the The Rescue Mission for the Syracuse area. The final project which they have worked on is the re-development of the OM Edwards building.