A submission concept for the Governors half billion
dollar regional awards
World
Center, NY and the International Museum of Writing,
IMoW and a Stadium Option
The concept is
to create a new municipal entity in New York State named World Center, NY that
would feature a New York State Museum called the International Museum of Writing,
IMoW, and possibly a major sports stadium for New York State teams. It would be
located in Syracuse, New York in such a way that the city would benefit enough
to approve the creation of the new municipality within its borders. Two maps
are attached.
World Center would promote itself as an international
location for new businesses, and workers and IMoW would attract large numbers
of visitors and tourists from around the world. IMoW could be the cultural mecca
of the world. The option of including of a major sports stadium would further
enhance the new city.
The proposed site area in Syracuse will benefit from
the fact that there are large amounts of vacant land or surface level parking
lots available for new buildings because the proposed site area is near or
adjacent to an ugly, noisy interstate elevated viaduct that is going to be
removed and probably be replaced with a Grand Boulevard. Although there is
still an option to rebuild the viaduct, the economic benefits of this project
would obviously preclude further consideration of the rebuilding option.
The concept is that
World Center, NY would be a high-density walkable community that would be a
home and workplace for thousands of people. Tens of thousands of people work
within walking distance of the site already since it is close to downtown Syracuse,
close the large medical complex of hospitals and close to Syracuse University.
To maximize the use of available vacant or underused property, the building
zoning concept for the new community would be to say mirror the high density zoning
of the central parts of New York City.
There would need to be a beneficial agreement with the
city of Syracuse so that the city would not only not lose revenue, but could
benefit financially from the new arrangement both initially and in the long
term. The new community would need, at least initially, to contract for many
services from the city. Since the city would be creating the new municipality,
the approval of a mutually beneficial agreement would seem obvious. Future
annexation of more city land area would be a possibility.
Since a large capital expenditure initially would be
required, the viability of this concept would be dependent upon the region
winning one of the governor’s half billion-dollar awards. This project
components could undoubtedly justify the creation of hundreds, maybe thousands of new jobs and
maybe $2.5 billion or more in new construction in the Central New York area
resulting from this visionary project. Its new business viability is further
enhanced by its location within a mile of a university thereby entitling it to certain
New York State new business development privileges.
The concept of World Center, NY and IMoW would create
an international buzz throughout the country and the world creating intense
interest in visitors and development potential.
DCA
A submission concept for the Governor’s half billion
dollar regional awards
World
Center, NY, the International Museum of Writing, IMoW and a Stadium Option-
Project
Details
1. IMoW and Medical Site- The block bounded by the new Boulevard, Adams Street
on the South, Townsend Street on the West and Harrison Street on the North is
proposed as major development area for IMoW, two 40+ story signature office
and/or hotel towers and a major 2,000 car parking garage. The existing SUNY Upstate
residential tower would remain on the block, but the Harrison Center one-story
medical office building would be moved across the Boulevard next to the Upstate
garage freeing up that signature site for premium development.
2. New SUNY Upstate Medical Building – The site owned by SUNY Upstate across the Boulevard
to the east would become a 6 to 20 story new medical office and hospital
expansion building about two stories of which would be a replacement for the
one story Harrison Center to be removed across the street. Additional floors
could be built as needed for badly needed hospital expansion and/or swing space
so that the existing hospital could finally be modernized. There would be a
bridge connecting across to the existing hospital to garage bridge. Optionally,
some floors of the new building could be Syracuse University's proposed Veterans
Medical School. A three-dimensional survey could separate the ownership deed
areas. A visual inspection of the two five-story big garages shows no cars
parked on the roof presently and only a few on the top story, so there is
apparently plenty of parking available for building expansion.
3. Potential New Buildings, Areas and Costs – The plan shows 80 new buildings where presently
surface level parking lots exist or nothing at all most of which would be four
stories minimum based on form-based zoning with many 18 to 24 story and a few
signature buildings of 40 or more stories. Using an average of 10 stories,
there could be almost a billion square feet of new construction, which at
$250/sq ft, would be $2.5 billion of mostly taxable new construction.
4. World Center International- World Center International, WCI, could be the nonprofit
organization established to do the organizational work need to get the overall
project off the ground until the new city is chartered and maybe beyond. They
would employ advertising, legal, city planners and others as needed. The
website www.worldcenter.international is registered.
5. Support Groups- Presently this is being proposed by an individual and there are no
support groups yet. But it seems obvious that if you were to indicate and
interest in proceeding with this project, that SUNY Upstate, Syracuse
University, the City of Syracuse, the local developers, architects, real estate
folks and others would quickly step forward in support and assistance.
6. Creating a Buzz- No one is going to build $2.5 billion of new construction unless a
major buzz is created. When Destiny USA first announced their major expansion
project to become one of the largest shopping centers in the world and an
international destination, it created a huge buzz that brought developers and
others rushing to Syracuse. They bought up scores of empty buildings. When
William Zeckendorf back in the 1960s bought up options for a whole city block
and surrounding property in New York City and presented some flashy development
plans, it created a huge buzz in the real estate, development and architectural
field. He never built the project but made millions selling the options on
adjacent property. The World Center and IMoW would need to be exploited to create
the same kind of buzz internationally.
7. EB-5 Visa Financing- There is a special green card program for foreign individuals
who invest $500,000 or more in businesses or construction projects that create
American jobs. Many of these are Chinese and there are real estate/lawyer
groups who bundle these individuals for investment purposes. http://www.wsj.com/articles/miami-taps-eb-5-visa-program-to-help-fund-affordable-housing-1438892939?tesla=y World Center International could facilitate this bundling
and promotion of special financing to assist in its development.
8. Transportation and Parking – Since it would be a walkable community, a large
percentage of both workers and residents might not own cars and could rely on
Zipcars for transportation outside of the new municipality. Public garages
would be spaced at critical distances and each would have a section for Zipcars.
The University and hospitals presently use shuttle buses and these could be
extended into the municipality.
9. High Density
– With New York City type high zoning and form-based zoning that would be come
effective after say five years, surface level parking lots and big lawns would
all disappear with just stores and office buildings and apartment buildings
filling every foot of street frontage.
10. Government-
World Center could incorporate as a small city with an estimated growth
potential between 10 and 20,000 people similar size to Fulton, NY, Oswego or
Plattsburgh, NY, but with an emphasis on being friendly and supportive of
visitors and immigrants from everywhere around the world.
11. Schools-
World Center, NY, as a small city, would have its own NYS School System and
consequently would have an opportunity to create a world-class educational
institution. Initially the present Syracuse City School District offices on
Harrison Street could be converted back to a school and maybe old Central H S
reopened later. The District could move to an empty city office building.
12. Stadium Option – a new stadium to replace the SU dome could be built on the area
shown on the small-scale plan on Adams Street to accommodate a 60 or 70,000
seat stadium with parking beneath and State Street potentially going through
the under building parking area. There is a group interested in promoting this
and the estimated cost is around $350 million. Replacing the displaced Syracuse
Housing Authority Apartments on empty land in other parts of the city is
estimated at $40-$60 million. Contact Tom Kinslow at tom@openatelier.com for more information.
13. Nothing is impossible – There will be scores of naysayers who will say you
can't do this grand project because of this or that reason. When DeWitt Clinton went to Thomas Jefferson
and asked for help in financing his Erie Canal project, Jefferson replied that
he (Clinton) would never be able to build the canal; it was impossible.
World
Center, NY, the International Museum of Writing, IMoW and a Stadium Option-
Proposed
Job Creation and Costs
The following is a discussion of possible costs. It
seems obvious that the viability of this project is totally dependent on major startup
funding from the governor’s half-billion dollar competition program. Having
said that, there is a wide spectrum of types of costs involved many of which
could would be paid for with private investment or bonded through the new
municipality. This proposal is in a very preliminary form and will undoubtedly
need to be revised, negotiated added to etc. No one presently has any financial
interest vested directly in the project and the material is presented here as
nonproprietary. So feel free to start contributing ideas and positive
suggestions.
Although it would be ideal if the whole project were
funded, feel free to select appropriate pieces for funding if need be.
Unfortunately it is beyond the expertise of this presenter to be able to
estimate the number of actual jobs that might the created. Suffice it to say
that the number would be very substantial.
1.
International
Museum of Writing, IMoW- (see
separate IMoW file) $263 million
2.
SUNY Upstate
New Building on Adams and the New Boulevard- The present Harrison Center is about 70,000 ft.² The new building
shown is about 35,000 square feet per floor so two floors would be needed to
replace Harrison Center. Then arbitrarily assume four more floors at 35,000
ft.² per floor for additional hospital, medical offices, surge space and maybe
SU’s Veterans Medical School for a total of 210,000 ft.² at $375 a square foot
equals $158 million total if all four
additional floors are build.
3.
New Stadium
Project- $350 million plus $50
million SHA and site acquisition costs. Contact Tom Kinslow at tom@openatelier.com for more information.
4.
World Center,
New York- Startup costs for the
nonprofit World Center International and then to create some initial public
facilities and start up financial support is a wild guess of say $40 million.
IMoW
INTERNATIONAL
MUSEUM OF WRITING
World Center, NEW YORK, USA
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What is IMoW?
IMoW, a potential 600 thousand
square foot project, is a proposed museum of writing composed of a family of 15
related writing museums all under one roof or a tight campus concept which is
intended to become “The Cultural Mecca of the World.” It is proposed to be located in a new
municipal entity called World Center that will be created out of part of what
is now Syracuse New York. The museum will represent material from all over the
world and is conceived as being an “active” museum rather than passive museum with
continuously updated programs, presentations and video material of a “first
run” nature possibly presenting current authors, first run plays; the latest of
everything: like a Wiki Museum with an actual home.
It could be a New York State
Museum or a traditional public museum, but the individual museums might be
tenants responsible for their own interior build-out and operation in the same
fashion as a shopping center does. If it is a New York State museum, the common
support areas, classrooms, auditorium, parking and administration could be
state owned. One similar example is MASS MoCA: http://www.massmoca.org, a contemporary Art Museum in Adams, Massachusetts
located in a renovated huge former factory building.
The goal would be to achieve an
attendance ranking for IMoW in the top five museums in the country (see
appendix) with about 4,000,000 yearly attendances or more. This would be about
a thousand people a day.
The
IMoW complex could to include the following international writing related museums:
1.
Typewriter Museum
2. Language,
Alphabets and Writing Museum
3. Dictionaries
and Word Museum
4. History of
Books and Printing Museum
5. Non-fiction
and Authors Museum
6. Fiction and
Authors Museum
7.
Journalism--Newspapers and Magazines--Museum
8. Poetry and
Poets Museum
9. Religious
Writing and Sacred books Museum
10. Playwriting
Museum
11. Music
Compositions and Composer Museum
12. Fairytale
and Fantasy Museum
13. Comics and
Graphic Novel Museum
14. Computer
and Software Writing Museum
15. Social Media Museum
16. Science and Technology Writing
Museum
Possible Ancillary Facilities:
· Space for small conventions and similar activities.
· International Restaurants and Book Stores from every
country in the world
· A language college which teaches all the world’s
hundreds of languages
· An auditorium for say 2,000 people for museum
presentations, meetings and readings
· A 2,000 car garage to replace the parking displaced by
the museum that would also enhance the Museum’s use.
· Two high-rise 40 plus story office or hotel buildings
using a land lease to a private company with space to build more.
Benefits for N Y State,
Central New York, Syracuse University and Destiny USA
1. All of New York State, and
especially the Erie Canal corridor cities, would benefit from the prestige,
surge of tourism and economic activity that IMoW would generate.
2. Central New York and
Syracuse would benefit more directly. IMoW could ultimately be a huge project
employing maybe hundreds of people when the ancillary facilities are included,
with maybe thousands of visitors a day that would put Central New York on the
International map with tremendous fallout benefits to business, people and
culture. (Four million attendances a year is about 11,000 attendees a day)
3. The museum would be the
anchor feature of the new municipality, World Center NY, each benefiting the
other from a prestige and marketing standpoint.
4. High school classes–it's not
hard to imagine every high school English teacher in the country urging their
students to visit IMoW.
5. IMoW would be a huge asset
to Syracuse University as a resource and marketing tool. Most of the separate
15 museums have a college or program area that Syracuse University teaches, so
the potential synergy with the university is huge. It is expected that the
university and LeMoyne College would be active partners. SU and LeMoyne could
help train some of the specialized positions needed. The site is within walking
distance of the University.
6. Central New York, and the
World Center, could be the Cultural Mecca of the World with IMoW, and
would a destination for people to come and work and live. Imagine the civic
pride of living in the Cultural Mecca of the World. New businesses would want
to come and locate here especially ones that had any connections with one or
more of the 15 museums--for example, firms and employees in computer in
software development and social media.
7. Educational and
entertainment opportunities–as an active Museum much as Wikipedia is an active
history media, IMoW material, presentation, events and classes would be on a
continuous up-dating process encouraging even locals to visit often.
Initial Program Scope
Precedents
There is no specific precedence to use as a guide
for the program for this project since this is a new, unique museum type. Other
major national and international museums of a related nature would be studied
in detail. This will take time and resources, however, but it is important to
progress the project forward with currently known information and projections
and using well-known and available institutional building programming formats. IMoW
could start online soon after conception and then progress physically.
Location
Why would the International Museum of Writing be
located in the Syracuse NY area instead of say London, NYC or Paris? First of
all, Central New York can claim to be the home of the typewriter with Smith
Corona’s factory starting here in Syracuse and Royal Typewriter in Ilion,
NY. Syracuse is centrally located in the
Northeast on the intersection of N, S, E and W highways and railroads within
500 miles—one days driving distance—of 90 million people in US and Canada.
Lastly, the idea originated here.
Draft Program-
- General- The museum is intended to be an
“active” museum in that it will not only be a repository of various
physical element of writing in all its broad facets, but more importantly
it will be a place where the newest, most famous and exciting elements of
all the writing disciplines will be either displayed or presented. These
could be plays, books, music, or many other things. Ideally, the “best” in
the various fields of writing would be presented here first time. The international aspect of the museum
is intended to at least represent all the aspects of writing of all
countries, although the USA would presumably be the primary feature.
Currently there are very few international museums related to writing, so
at present it would appear that this museum could serve that need for the
entire world and all its people. In the future there might be continental
branches of IMoW in Europe, Africa, South America, Middle East and Asia.
- Program Areas or Separate Museums- as listed
on page 1. Program Areas/Museum could be separate areas arranged around a
Center Area, an arrangement like a shopping mall, where individual museums
had “store fronts” on to the central mall area. Each Program Area would
have its archive area, an active changing exhibit area and for some, a
presentation area some of which could be shared. They could be partially
self-contained individual museums with shared support facilities of
lobbies, public toilets, food concessions/ international restaurants,
classrooms, 2,000-seat auditorium. Each museum would have a museum store
specializing in the artifacts that particular museum.
- The Center Area and Services- is proposed as a
glass atrium of huge proportions off of which the individual museum
program areas would be accessed like stores in a shopping center.
Surrounding the center area could be international restaurants
representing as many countries as possible and international souvenir
shops.
- Language College and Classrooms This option
could be a college level special language school maybe in conjunction with
Syracuse University, LeMoyne and other area colleges. A major program area
could be “All the Languages of the World”. Also there would be special
facilities for visiting high school students. Ideally, every high
school senior in the world would visit the IMoW. The classrooms and
large group instruction areas would be shared areas for the wall complex.
- Support Facilities- Central
administrative offices hotels for visitors. This would be facilitated if
there were a form of rapid transit car to the rail depot and the airport.
There would be public toilet rooms to service all of the public needs
relieving the individual museums of this obligation.
- Sustainability Area- The complex could
be the world’s largest carbon neutral building and self sufficient in
water and sewage with virtually no “waste” removed from the site. The
world’s greenest building would be a showcase for strategies to renew the
earth and planet and could be designed to meet the Living Building
Challenge. http://tinyurl.com/mo7c6b8
- Program Adjustments- The initial
planning team should look at this list as only a startling point. For
example, maybe a museum for Inventions and Technical Writing should be
included. Any one of these Program Areas could be a huge museum in itself.
Take for example, Religious Writing and Books. Christianity, Muslin,
Jewish, Hindu and scores of minor religions and their great books and
writings could be a vast presentation. The Bible section alone would be
huge. With today’s technological presentation methods with talking flat
screens, and creative effects, museums can be lively and dramatic and ever
changing.
- Size of Building and Site-
a. 15 museums, two stories @ 30,000 sf = 450,000
b. Central lobby circulation 120 x 500 = 60,000
c. Central auditorium for 2,000 = 20,000
c. Public toilets, stairs, elevators = 10,000
d. 20 Classrooms and support areas = 20,000
e. Concessions, restaurants = 15,000
e. Admin, offices =
10,000
f.
Service, mechanical, storage = 10,000
g. Elevated building parking for 2,000
cars =600,000
h. Total
finished area …………………… 600,000
sf.
i.
Building footprint………………………… see plan
- Flexibility- This is very early concept material and
the final IMoW program could be, say, double or half the size of what is
shown here.
Estimated Costs
Overall finished Museum costs might be $300 a
square foot for more but it could be divided into shell costs for the New York
State Museum and tenant Museum build out costs where the interiors much as
shopping centers are presently done today. The two Towers would be private
development costs. The 2,000 car garage might be around $30 million.
1.
Museum shell cost at $200 a square foot =$120,000,000
2.
Museum build out at $130 a square foot =
$60,000,000 (not included)
3.
Garage for 2,00 cars = $30,000,000
4.
Museum start up and five-year cost = $18,000,000 allowance
5.
Cost to demolish existing Harrison Center =$1,000,000
allowance
6.
Subtotal $229,000,000
7.
Miscellaneous and contingency 15%
= $34,000.000
8.
Total $263,000,000
9.
The Project could also be staged in phases
Tasks and Status
Status:
1. Concept Program and Costs- have been prepared (see Executive
Summary and Initial Program Scope)
2. Web
Sites- Several key websites such as: IMWR.org, internationalmuseunofwriting.org,
will be registered. IMow.info is registered
3. Location-
The building could be at the site bounded by Harrison, Townsend, Adams Streets
and the new Grand Boulevard
4. Trademark-
IMoW is available from the US Patent Office.
5. The
Incorporation/Charter Status- has been researched. See tasks below.
Tasks to do first year:
- Decision to Proceed- Internal business meetings with all parties and
meet with potential outside financial partners.
- Grant application– A grant application for the startup costs would
need to be prepared and accepted before further work to proceed.
- Employ interim Museum Director- And small staff. Designate initial address and
space for first year startup; say a floor in the SU downtown Warehouse.
- Designate support services- Legal, accounting, design and planning etc.
- Decide-
on whether it will be one museum or 15 museums.
- Board of Trustees- Is required, 3 minimum, for each museum.
Ultimately the trustees need to represent the leaders in the discipline of
that individual museum and or to be substantial donors.
- Purposes-
Needed in order to do the Charter
- Charter-
Correspondence with the State Education Department and the Dept. of State
indicate that museums need to be “Chartered” just like a school would. The
process is not complicated but needs the selection of a board of trustees,
preparation of a Purposes statement and a preliminary location. The state
will issue a Provisional Charter, which will turn into a full Charter in
five years if all the conditions are complied with. Once again, must
decide if it is 1 or 15 museums.
- Organizational List and Meetings- A list of “Interested Parties” needs to be
prepared with contact people. This is going to be a joint Central New York
effort involving a significant number of institutions, government units
and individuals. Syracuse University will be a major player and presently
has a school or college already devoted to the subject of most of the 15
individual museums. Other primary institutions are City of Syracuse,
Onondaga County, Everson Museum, LeMoyne College, OHA, OCPL, State of New
York, all government representatives to the state legislature and the US
Congress, CenterStates CEO, Destiny USA, and other area colleges.
- Start up registration- 501c3 or comparable; websites for individual
museums; 990 registration IRS, phone numbers, etc.
- Preliminary Program- Needs to progress beyond schematic ideas. Each
museum needs a team dedicated to developing its program, identifying
interested parties and funding sources.
- Financial spread sheet- An ongoing analysis of costs and income
required and funding sources
- Publicity-
The sooner the community, the state, the university, the museum community
and potential students hear about this the better.
- Many other Tasks- The Interim Director, trustees and staff can
determine.
- Need a Startup Grant- See's Task 2. officially started.
By
David C Ashley, updated 8.4.2015davidcashley@gmail.com
