Syracuse, N.Y. -- The new owners of the Armory Square building that houses the soon-to-be-closed Eureka Crafts store are considering redeveloping the building.
Jeffrey Appel, managing member of Armory Boys V LLC, said the ownership group is looking at ways to improve the site but have not come to any conclusions yet.
“We’re keeping to ourselves because we’re not sure what direction we’re going with it, but it will be an improvement to the site,” he said. "We’re evaluating what we can do with the building.”
Armory Boys V bought the building -- which has a legal address of 212-214 Walton St. but is generally listed as 210 Walton St. -- from Armory Art Associates for $499,500 on Nov. 29. The one-story building, which was built in 1950, has been up for sale for a couple of years.
The building’s best known tenant, Eureka Crafts, is closing near the end of the month after 37 years selling artist-made jewelry, ceramics and woodcraft products. A representative of the shop’s owner, Tom Cunningham, said Tuesday that he is looking to reopen the business somewhere closer to his home in Fayetteville.
Appel said Eureka’s departure has nothing to do with plans for the building’s redevelopment.
“They’re one of the original Armory Square businesses,” he said. “We didn’t ask them to leave. They were winding up the business. That’s why it was up for sale.”
Appel and his business partners, John Caraccioli and Richard Grabowsky, bought the Piper Phillips building a block away at 229-237 W. Fayette St. in 2017 and are building apartments on its top two floors. The three men are real estate investors from New Jersey.
Downtown and surrounding areas have seen a surge in the residential market in the past few years, with developers converting vacant or underutilized commercial space into upscale apartments that command premium rents. The Eureka Crafts building is only a one-story structure, so the owners would have to add some floors if they decide to go with a residential development.
