On Thursday May 23rd at 11 am, Syracuse-based housing and community development non-profit Home HeadQuarters, along with Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and others, celebrated the completed restoration of the former Lasher Hardware building on the corner of Geddes and Fayette in Syracuse.
Home HeadQuarters, along with neighborhood enthusiast and Gear Factory founder Rick Destito, worked to restore the 2-story brick building and return it from its occasional seedy use and appearance to an inviting mixed-use neighborhood anchor featuring three affordable apartments and a local taqueria. Built in 1882 with the brick edifice we see today, the building has housed grocery stores, various saloons, a speakeasy, hardware store, storage facility and in the past few decades, a neglected destination for unlawful activity.
Taco Breaking participants included; City of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh; Home HeadQuarters Chief Executive Officer Kerry Quaglia; Allyn Family Foundation Executive Director Meg O’Connell, Ponchito’s Taqueria owner Frank Mignacca, A-M Electric owner Sep Herbert and others. A tour of the taqueria, front porch and an upstairs apartment immediately followed.
Home HeadQuarters has been the primary residential and mixed-use developer for Syracuse’s Near Westside for more than a decade. While challenging and often costly, projects such as the former Lasher Hardware building restoration can spur additional investment and interest in undervalued neighborhoods. This project was made possible with support from the City of Syracuse, The Empire State Development and NYS Main Street programs, The Allyn Family Foundation and NeighborWorks America.
