Geneva company will invest $7M in renovations

By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

A long-vacant eyesore in the town of Van Buren soon will have a new tenant. Empire Polymer Solutions will set up operations at the former Syroco site, located at 7528 State Fair Blvd.

The Geneva-based company, which processes recycled plastic for new manufacturing uses, plans to bring 70 jobs to Van Buren over the next five years.

“It’s so long overdue,” said Onondaga County Legislator Ken Bush Jr., who represents Van Buren, Camillus and the Jordan-Elbridge area. “We’ve had false starts and I’m just so hopeful that this is going to come to pass.”

Syroco, which manufactured plastic lawn furniture and decor, closed in 2007, eliminating 154 jobs in Van Buren. The company was founded by Adolph Holstein in 1890 as the Syracuse Ornamental Co.

Empire Polymer Solutions has applied for about $2.4 million in tax breaks from the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency. OCIDA will hold a public hearing on the application June 25. For more information, visit ongoved.com/ocida.

According to documents on OCIDA’s website, the proposed tax deal includes:

• $1.8 million in property tax discounts over 15 years

• $570,817 in sales tax exemptions for construction materials

• $42,264 exemption from the state mortgage recording tax.

The property would be fully taxable after 15 years.

“The tax breaks are basically going to help us get the building up to speed,” Empire Polymer Solutions President Frank Murphy told the Messenger. “We have many millions of dollars we need to put into the site. … We’re planning on working on the building in 2020 and we’d like to have part of our operations going before the end of this year.”

Empire plans to pour $7 million into the 205,000-square-foot building, which is located on about 16 acres neighboring Tessy Plastics.

Murphy said Empire was drawn to the Syroco site because of the infrastructure of the building and its proximity to Empire’s clients in New England and Canada.

“Finding manufacturing sites [is] very difficult nowadays especially if the building’s got good bones,” Murphy said, adding, “It’s a good transportation logistics location.”

Murphy, who has 30 years of manufacturing experience, said he is looking forward to having Tessy Plastics as a neighbor and bringing jobs to Central New York.

“We think there’s a real good workforce there and there’s a need for manufacturing to be brought back into the area,” he said. “We’re planning on being good neighbors. Syroco was a big part of the community.”

Van Buren Supervisor Claude Sykes said he has been working with Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon for several years to bring a new tenant to the Syroco site, which has fallen victim to vandalism over the years.

“We’re glad to see it’s going to reopen,” he said. “It’s been in poor condition now for several years and the kids have been using it as a hideaway for themselves — there’s broken glass and everything.”

Bush said he is “enthusiastic” about the prospect of new jobs and a property returning to the tax roll.

“The key thing here is it’s been an ugly blighted sight and it’s finally going to be put back on the tax roll,” he said. “That could be 70 people that could live in the Baldwinsville/Van Buren/Lysander area and not have to commute somewhere else. We need more employment centers throughout the county so people don’t have to drive to downtown Syracuse.”