Syracuse
Developmental Center
by Bryant Neal
Syracuse Developmental Center - November 17th, 2017From Asylum to Demolition
The Syracuse Developmental Center (SDC) has a long and complex history dating back to the mid-19th century. Originally founded in 1851 as the New York State Asylum for Idiots, the institution underwent numerous name changes and expansions over the decades as attitudes and approaches to caring for the intellectually and developmentally disabled evolved.
In 1855, the asylum moved from Albany to a new building in Syracuse, where it was known as the New York Asylum for Idiots or the State Idiot Asylum [1]. Over the next century, the facility went by various names including the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children, the Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives, and finally the Syracuse State School [2].
The original 1855 building served the institution for over a century, but by the 1960s and 1970s, the facility was showing its age and failing to meet the needs of its residents. In response, the state legislature approved funding for a new, modern facility to replace the aging structure [3].
Construction on the new Syracuse Developmental Center began in 1971. Designed by the architectural firm Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw and Folley, the 447,000-square-foot building was constructed on a hillside site bounded by Wilbur Avenue, Grant Avenue, and Burnet Park [3]. The new facility, which cost $20.3 million, was built to house and train 744 individuals with intellectual disabilities from Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Cortland, and Madison counties [3].
The new SDC building, which opened in 1972, was designed with a unique layout - it appeared as two rows of small buildings aligned on the hillside, but was actually one large interconnected structure. The four-story building had ground-level entrances on each floor, with the main service areas, reception, and entrance on the lowest level. The upper three floors contained the living units and program areas, including educational and prevocational training spaces, medical services, physical and occupational therapy, a swimming pool, gymnasium, library, and administrative offices [3].
The living units were designed to house residents in "families" of eight, with each unit containing sleeping, storage, and living room facilities [3]. This was a departure from the large, institutional wards of the previous facility, reflecting a shift towards a more homelike, community-oriented model of care.
Over the following decades, the Syracuse Developmental Center continued to evolve, adding new programs and services. In 1972, it launched the Children's Fundamental Learning program (CFLP), which provided day care, therapeutic, and special education services for developmentally disabled children living at home. This program closed in 1982 as children began receiving services through local school districts [2].
Similarly, the Adult Care Program (ADC), which served individuals over age 21, was assimilated into other day programs operated by the SDC in the late 1970s. One of the first respite programs in the state was also established in conjunction with these two day programs [2].
In 1975, a sheltered workshop was created at the SDC, and from 1977 to 1979 the majority of the work program moved out of the main facility and into the community. Old "colonies" were also reconfigured as community residences during this period [2].
The 1980s saw the opening of an Intermediate Care Facility in 1982, as well as the founding of the Margaret E. Williams Developmental Evaluation Center in 1983, which provided diagnostic evaluation, screening, intervention, and community education services [2]. Starting in 1984, the SDC also began operating off-site "enclaves" that focused on personal and vocational skill development.
By the 1990s, the "normalization movement" had taken hold, and only those with the most severe and profound disabilities remained in large state-run developmental centers like the SDC. In 1992, people with disabilities were offered the option to choose only the services they needed through Individualized Residential Alternatives (IRAs), rather than being enrolled in traditional service models [2].
Debate over the closure of the Syracuse Developmental Center began in 1992-1993, and in 1995 Governor George Pataki announced a statewide reduction in the number of Developmental Disability Services Offices (DDSOs), including the merger of the Rome and Syracuse districts to form the Central New York DDSO [2].
After years of planning and preparation, the Syracuse Developmental Center officially closed its doors on June 17, 1998, after 144 years of operation. The closure was marked by a ceremony titled "As One Door Closes, Many Open: Ceremony to Mark the Closure of the Syracuse Developmental Center." Over 1,500 people attended the event, which celebrated the shift away from institutionalization and towards community-based care and independent living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities [4].
In the years following the SDC's closure, the massive 48-acre campus sat vacant, sparking ongoing controversy and failed redevelopment attempts. In 2006, the property was sold at auction for $2.2 million to a group of investors called Syracuse Resort Development (SRD) [5]. SRD had plans to turn the former asylum into a vacation resort, but the project never materialized.
SRD failed to pay property taxes on the site, leading the city of Syracuse to attempt to seize the property in 2010. In response, SRD filed for bankruptcy protection, temporarily stalling the city's plans [8]. The property was eventually sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2013 to a company called Syracuse Center LLC for $2.1 million [7].
Syracuse Center LLC also failed to pay property taxes, and in 2019 the city again moved to seize the property. It was listed for auction in September 2020, but no buyer emerged [7].
Finally, in 2023, the city of Syracuse received 29 million in state funding to demolish the former Syracuse Developmental Center [7]. On February 27, 2024, the city awarded a 10.2 million demolition contract to Ritter & Paratore Contracting Inc. to raze the vacant buildings and remediate the site [8].
The demolition of the Syracuse Developmental Center marks the end of an era for the facility that once served as a state-of-the-art institution for the care and treatment of the intellectually and developmentally disabled. While the building's closure in 1998 was celebrated as a victory for the disability rights movement and the shift towards community-based services, the subsequent decades of neglect and failed redevelopment attempts have left the campus in a state of disrepair.
The $29 million demolition project will clear the way for the city's plans to redevelop the 50-acre site with 500 units of affordable housing - a fitting reuse of the land that once housed an institution designed to segregate and "rehabilitate" those deemed unfit for society. The demolition of the SDC building represents the final chapter in the complex history of this once-grand asylum, and an opportunity to reimagine the site's future in a way that better serves the needs of the surrounding community.
Sources:
[1] "New York State Asylum, Syracuse, NY." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Sept. 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse_State_School.
[2] "New York State Asylum, Syracuse, NY." From the New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY. Agency record NYSV1569093-a, 16 Aug. 2016, snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6dz46kt.
[3] "Contracts Awarded For New State School." The Post-Standard, 12 Jan. 1970, p. 12. https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-jan-12-1970-p-12/.
[4] Stuckey, Zosha “Epideictic Rhetoric and the Reinvention of Disability: A Study of Ceremony at the New York State Asylum for “Idiots” ” Present Tense, Vol. 2, Issue 2, 2012. https://www.presenttensejournal.org/volume-2/epideictic-rhetoric-and-the-reinvention-of-disability-a-study-of-the-opening-and-closing-ceremonies-at-the-new-york-state-asylum-for-idiots/
[5] "Owners of Syracuse Developmental Center File for Bankruptcy Protection as City Prepares to Seize Property." Syracuse.com, 16 Dec. 2010, www.syracuse.com/news/2010/12/owners_of_syracuse_developmenta.html.
[6] Knauss, Tim. "Owners of Syracuse Developmental Center File for Bankruptcy Protection as City Prepares to Seize Property." Syracuse.com, 16 Dec. 2010, www.syracuse.com/news/2010/12/owners_of_syracuse_developmenta.html.
[7] "The Massive Developmental Center on Syracuse's West Side is Up for Sale." Syracuse.com, 4 Sept. 2020, www.syracuse.com/news/2020/09/the-massive-developmental-center-on-syracuses-west-side-is-up-for-sale.html.
[8] "Common Council Approves Demolition of Former Syracuse Developmental Center." The Daily Orange, 31 Oct. 2023, https://dailyorange.com/2023/10/common-council-former-syracuse-developmental-center-demolition-affordable-housing/.
[9] "Demolition of Syracuse Developmental Center." City of Syracuse, 4 Jan. 2024, www.syr.gov/Departments/Purchase/Bids-Active/2023-11-11-Bid-SDC-Demolition.
Last Updated: May 20th, 2024