WILLIAM C. AND ROBERT O. MORRIS NEW HARTFORD SHOPPING CENTER TRUST P.O. Box 689 New Hartford, New York 13413
City of Utica Planning Board Fred Matrulli, Chairperson Utica City Hall, 1 Kennedy Plaza Utica, NY 13502
Dear Mr. Matrulli I am pleased to learn that your board will be the lead agency for SEQR review as it pertains to the construction of the new hospital complex currently planned for downtown Utica. I know this process can be exhausting, but I am sure the outcome will be beneficial to all concerned. My brother Robert and I are leaseholders of a certain piece of property known as the New Hartford Shopping Center located in the Village of New Hartford. It is my understanding that part of the above referenced review process includes the consideration of alternate sites that fit the master plan for the proposed facility. As such, I would like to present our site for consideration and do so for the following reasons: 1. The property consists of approximately 42 acres. There are 32 acres of surface parking available which would eliminate the need for the construction of indoor parking facilities. 2. The site is environmentally clean. 3. The site is located at the intersections of Routes 5,12,8 and 840 plus has access from Genesee Street giving it access from every corner of the county. 4. The mandate from New York State is that the hospital must be built in the largest population center in the county. We abut City of Utica property which is across Campion Road from our site, but we are arguably centered in and around the largest population in the county. 5. We would be open to maintaining control of the property and working out a lease agreement with MVHS thereby keeping the property on the tax rolls. A pilot program could be worked out that would keep all public entities, town, county, city and school districts from suffering the loss which would result from a not for profit hospital being built on tax exempt land. 6. The tenants currently in the Shopping Center have leases that expire on or before 2029, at which time the center will be vacant. Many leases expire well before then. There is no shortage of vacant retail space in the area into which tenants could be relocated if necessary. The future of retail is in flux at best thus it seems that highest and best use of the center property may not be retail.
7. I know there has been a great deal of discussion regarding the St. Lukes campus as an alternate site. Certainly there are drawbacks to that site that don’t exist for ours. Hospitals could continuously operate without being interrupted by construction. There are no wetland issues here. The access here is far superior. 8. Locating the hospital here would allow the development of the Varick Street-Bagg Square corridor to continue unimpeded by the uncertainty of the proposed development. In conclusion, I hope you will seriously consider this property for the hospital. As with any site I am sure there will be questions and concerns. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you and the Board at any time. Very Truly Yours New Hartford Shopping Center Trust
By: William C. Morris, Trustee cc: Robert O. Morris Michael Galime Anthony Picente Anthony Brindisi Robert Palmieri Scott Perra