Cazenovia College Revitalization
Building the next legacy.
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re excited to have hosted the Syracuse International Film Festival in mid-October, which marked the reopening of the Catherine Cummings Theater!
NEXT VILLAGE BOARD MEETING: November 4th at 7:00p. Located at the Village Offices and open to the public.
the project
We’re turning a once-vibrant academic institution into an equally as vibrant, reimagined district for innovation, business growth, and impact that not only strongly serves our community, but provides powerful global connections and influence.
We’re combining leading technology and business elements, lifestyle and cultural components, and collaborative public programs into curated spaces where businesses, residents, and visitors can thrive together.
This community-first approach will kickstart economic development, generate new job opportunities and provide Cazenovia with forward-looking growth opportunities.
the property
Located in Upstate NY, the main campus sits on 27 acres (14 parcels). Many buildings have been renovated in the past 10-20 years, and remain in good condition.
It contains a network of lecture halls and instructional space, several historical village homes, community spaces (eg student hall), a fully-functioning theater, an athletic facility, and more.
Two miles off-campus is a 151-acre Equestrian Center, with an adjacent 89-acre vacant, wooded lot.
main quad
The Main Quad is our launch site – a full village block of buildings, space, and possibility. It’s where food systems, innovation, leadership, and culture converge.A walkable, flexible, livable district with room to grow.
Our mixed-use, community-focused redevelopment is built around three integrated areas of focus – a business, innovation and tech district, various housing options such as senior living and tiered-pricing, and ample indoor and outdoor community spaces, making maximum use of the traditional Quad-style layout.
power of place
MAIN QUAD
A simple space strategy: Allocate across three high-demand pillars to relevance, staying in-line with the Village’s reuse priorities of job creation, economic development and community.
BUSINESS/TECH DISTRICT
Actively recruit tenants and partners with strong positions in the innovation space.
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
Provide opportunities for community participation that fosters both access and economic growth.
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
Create compelling cases for Cazenovia to be a destination for more people, for more reasons.
Some of the specific (but not exclusive!) projects in active development: Agriculture and Food Innovation Center, Entrepreneurship Workforce Development, Women in Sports & Health, the Trades, Creator & Maker spaces, and more.
equine center
We’re developing a new rural model on the 151-acre equine property of former campus, bringing back equine activities and adding agriculture, lifestyle and leisure activities, housing, and land-based experiences to drive value.
It’s a long-term strategy for responsible rural/suburban growth via the agrihood model: Master-planned communities built around working farmland (one of the fastest-growing segments in lifestyle real estate).
power of place
EQUINE CENTER
A simple space strategy: Turn high-interest lifestyle experiences into recurring demand for overnight and long-term stay options – all grounded in thoughtful, responsible growth.
ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE
Create multiple compelling reasons for people to visit and experience the space.
LIVING & LODGING
Drive high returns through thoughtfully developed short-term and long-term housing options.
RESPONSIBLE GROWTH
Provide a model for thoughtful, land-based suburban expansion.
our investors
Our investor pool was put together to strategically support all aspects of the project.
Community: We have a healthy pool of local, community investors and alumni. It was extremely important to make this deal accessible to people who live here and learned here, and will be most impacted by the project.
Big Ideas: The remaining investors are individuals we’ve worked with or invested with before, know personally, and are going to be strong thought partners on this project. These include founders, angel investors and venture capitalists investing personally, real estate investors, general members of the innovation space, groups of “friends and colleagues” investing together, and more.
Our investor base is an asset, not just dollars, made up of people who believe in what we’re doing, are excited about the project and its vision and will make it much more impactful for all of us.
INVEST WITH US
community-focus
Our reason for initiating this effort from the get-go—and our entire team’s unwavering focus—has been to create long-term benefit for the community, in direct alignment with the Village’s stated goals: community vitality, job creation, and thoughtful economic development.
To that end, several actions we’ve taken thus far, and have mapped out for our future.
Development
Brought on a fantastic firm as a full operating partner – The Oughtness Group – who’s experience in multi-use, community-led development across the country is bar none.
Engaged multiple fantastic local and national experienced partners and advisors.
Ensured our historical designation eligibility wasn’t put at jeopardy at EOY 2024 despite not owning the property.
Developed a template for a community committee-style RFP process to use when identifying development partners that are a best fit for all stakeholders.
Community Engagement
Created a community investment pool to ensure local people who may not normally have access to real estate investment opportunities of this magnitude could participate in and benefit from such an important local project.
Held several community forums with various constituents (e.g. business owners) to outline our plan and ask for input.
Taken ongoing community feedback and inquiries online, many of whom we’ve been able to meet and create further relationships with.
Targeted an open community meeting in partnership with Caz Forum and CACDA for late summer, post-close.
Municipal/Public Stakeholder Engagement
Created a community investment pool to ensure local people who may not normally have access to real estate investment opportunities of this magnitude could participate in and benefit from such an important local project.
Held several community forums with various constituents (e.g. business owners) to outline our plan and ask for input.
Taken ongoing community feedback and inquiries online, many of whom we’ve been able to meet and create further relationships with.
Targeted an open community meeting in partnership with Caz Forum and CACDA for late summer, post-close.
village feasibility study
The Village of Cazenovia conducted a campus reuse feasibility study, a process that our group took an integral and active part in. We opened up key parts of our due diligence to the process, and benefited from additional layers of third-party inputs.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to work closely with local stakeholders on determining win-win pathways for the future of the campus.
want to chat?
We’re heavily focused on including community stakeholders in our process moving forward. As we’re moving through our initial planning phase, we’d love to hear from you, and will be focusing on input that’s most aligned with our long-term vision and goals. A formal public-planning process will be initiated once our final close is completed.
Please feel free to provide feedback below!