Benjamin Franklin would be proud of the ingenuity displayed in the urban rejuvenation of a part of Syracuse, New York, that bears his name. The Franklin Square district represents the first stage in the City of Syracuse's largest renewal effort in recent history. It has been scaled to serve multiple functions, anticipating the needs of residents and initiating the complete redevelopment of fifty acres of city land.

In 1987, an imaginative developer had an idea for a one-mile triangle just minutes from downtown: He envisioned a cluster of old factories converted to housing and office use - and a creekside

walkway/bikeway corridor linking the downtown area to lake and suburban communities. An open space network could connect a Barge Canal terminal to Onondaga Lake, making the water body a marina, with a mall on the shore to anchor the area visually and financially. All it would take is some trade-offs and acquisitions.

The revitalization project has been pursued on a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) basis, in which a single developer has rehabilitated both public and private spaces, including infrastructure. The long-neglected floodway creek adjacent has for the first time been made available as a recreational resource.

Franklin Square Park is the initial centerpiece of the renewal area and is intended to contribute a prior sense of place to a new community. In plan, the park provides a large public place, sunlit fountain and sitting area, a central green, and fenced-in walkway. An eclectic mixture of styles reflect assumed practices of a provincial city at the turn of the century, while a purposeful asymmetry in planting and other details suggests periodic inattention to maintenance requirements over the years. At the same time, the materials used are elegant and inviting to a contemporary public. In keeping with the theme, quotations by Franklin are carved into granite surfaces in random locations througout the park to be discovered and enjoyed by users.