Syracuse auditor urges appeal in tax fight over SU student center
Syracuse's auditor wants the city to keep fighting over Schine Student Center, a case tied to about $62,000 a year and broader city revenue.
A $62,000 tax bill tied to Syracuse University’s Schine Student Center may not be finished, even after the university won a full exemption in state appellate court. City Auditor Alex Marion is urging Syracuse to appeal, keeping alive a fight that could affect what the university contributes to city finances well beyond 200-10 Waverly Avenue.
The city began taxing about 8% of Schine’s value in 2021 after commercial chains such as Panda Express and CoreLife Eatery opened inside the building. That assessment translated into an annual tax bill of roughly $62,000, a modest figure on its own but one that matters in Syracuse, where every piece of property-tax revenue helps support daily services.
The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, ruled June 5 that Schine is fully exempt under RPTL 420-a for tax years 2022 and 2023, unanimously reversing Onondaga County Supreme Court. Marion wants the city to take the case to New York’s highest court for one last appeal, and Syracuse Common Council members were also weighing a resolution to press the administration to keep fighting.
Schine itself is no side issue on campus. Syracuse University reopened the renovated Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center on Feb. 8, 2021, after a roughly $50 million project that covered about 80,000 square feet. The university describes the building as the hub of student life, with an expanded central atrium, better accessibility and centralized space for student activities. Its dining lineup includes Panda Express, CoreLife Eatery, The Halal Shack, Biscotti Café, Chocolate Pizza Company, Tavola 44 and Dunkin’.
The tax dispute also lands in the middle of a broader city-university financial relationship that has long shaped how Syracuse pays for municipal services. Syracuse and SU entered a five-year services agreement in 2011 under which the university paid the city $2.5 million. A 2022 Common Council-approved pact totaled $11 million over five years, and current reporting says the deal in force this year pays Syracuse $2.2 million and expires at the end of June.
That makes the Schine case more than a narrow legal question. If the ruling stands, Syracuse loses another lever in its effort to push large tax-exempt institutions to help carry the cost of city government. If the city appeals and wins, the annual tax stream from Schine would remain in play, along with the broader message it sends about how far Syracuse can go when tax-exempt buildings house revenue-generating businesses.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
