Crouse Health is planning to expand medical services in Syracuse’s northern suburbs next year after the gift of a 66,000-square-foot building near the Interstate 81 interchange in Mattydale.
Crouse expects to create 50 new jobs — including doctors — as part of its first physical expansion since calling off merger plans with Upstate Medical University earlier this year, Crouse CEO Dr. Seth Kronenberg told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.
“I think it sends a message to the community that Crouse is expanding,” Kronenberg said. “This isn’t relocating services. It’s really Crouse expanding.”
Crouse will take over the former headquarters of CXTec at 5404 South Bay Road, a building that is being donated to the hospital by CXTec founder Bill Pomeroy.
The building bears an iconic clock tower from its roots decades ago as home to Switz’s craft and variety store. CXTec was headquartered there from 1997 until moving to downtown Syracuse earlier this year.
Crouse will begin retrofitting the building in the new year, Kronenberg said. The building itself is in good shape, meaning that some services can open before the end of 2024, Kronenberg said.
Plans are to open new offices for primary care, as well as for surgical specialties, Kronenberg said. There are no plans to perform surgeries at the new location. There will also be space to do routine screenings for diabetes, stroke, prenatal care and cardiac health.
The new facility will not need expanded state licensing to operate, Kronenberg said, unless it plans to do more intensive medical procedures in the future.
Crouse also plans to open the building’s large meeting spaces for community activities and to expand its Visit to Hospital-Land program for schoolchildren.
Kronenberg did not provide an estimate as to how much the renovations would cost.
The building fits Crouse’s plans to expand services in the northern suburbs, Kronenberg said. Crouse’s only other office in the area is a small facility in the Clay Medical Center, on Oswego Road, which will remain open, he said.
Bill Pomeroy is pictured here with his late wife, Sandra, who died earlier this year from Alzheimer's disease.Bill Pomeroy
Pomeroy has a soft spot for Crouse after receiving treatment there for leukemia two decades ago. Prior donations have led the Pomeroy name to be attached to the hospital’s nursing college, addiction treatment center and emergency room, among other places.
Pomeroy had listed the former CXTec building for $5 million. After Crouse called off the merger with Upstate, Pomeroy said he wanted to send a message that he believed in Crouse’s future.
“What the heck, why not just give the building to Crouse?” he said of his thinking. “It provided life-saving care to me when I needed it.”
The building is assessed at $5.2 million, according to property records. Crouse says it will use its non-profit status to apply for a tax exemption. It will be renamed the Pomeroy Community & Wellness Center at Crouse Health.
Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-6070.