Syracuse, N.Y. — The Armoy Square building that housed Empire Brewing for more than 20 years is now filled with new apartments and art from more than a dozen artists.
And soon it will host an art gallery and a new brewpub with a focus on whiskey.
Owners Jeffrey Appel and Spiro Spiliotis recently completed a two-year effort to turn the top five floors of the historic Bentley Settle Building at 120 Walton St. into 30 apartments (seven studio, 12 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom).
The seven studio units and one each of the one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are available as short-term rentals via Airbnb. The rest of the apartments are available for long-term rentals.
Rents range from $2,000 to $3,000 for one-bedroom units and $3,000 to $4,000 for two-bedroom units. Gigabit-speed internet service, gas heat and access to the building’s first-floor fitness center are included in the rent. And every unit has a stacked washer and dryer.
Art is a theme running through the entire building.
An art gallery, Art Haus | SYR, is set to open next month on the first floor. It will be the first privately owned art gallery in downtown Syracuse and will feature paintings, sculptures and fashions from local artists.
“It’s going to be what I think is within reach, so there will be something that anyone can afford to buy,” said Appel, who took up painting five years ago. “I believe that original art makes your life better. And the more original art we can put out there, the better.”
The gallery is a partnership of Appel, Spiliotis and a couple, Michael Schwarzer and Marianna Ranieri-Schwarzer. Schwarzer, an artist, and his wife operated a gallery, Midoma, in Manhattan for 20 years before it closed during the pandemic.
The couple moved in 2020 to Syracuse, where Ranieri-Schwarzer is from originally, and have been displaying art in the windows of empty downtown storefronts since last March.
More than 100 original works of art from Appel and more than a dozen other artists are displayed in the building’s hallways and elevator lobbies and within the seven Airbnb apartments. Next to each is a QR code that directs observers to a website where they can purchase the works.
“There’s a huge art scene in Central New York,” Appel said. “And in Syracuse, there are a lot of really talented artists and hopefully this will give them a chance to be seen more.”
The art theme carries over into the apartment designs. All 37 bathrooms in the units feature unique tile designs by a local artisan. And the second bathrooms in the two-bedroom units feature a fashionable “wet room” design, where there is no enclosure separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom.
“I think it’s going to go over well,” Appel said of the wet room design. “I’ve rarely seen any of these in the U.S., but they’re very popular in Asia and Europe. It actually gives you more room than separating things.”
In addition, the 30 apartments contain 22 unique countertops, with varying colors and materials including quartz, granite and marble.
“I didn’t want cookie cutter apartments,” said Appel.
The door numbers on the wall outside each apartment aren’t just any old door numbers. They were forged from steel by an artisan and are lighted internally.
Sunlight floods each of the apartments thanks to the building’s large, arched windows, plus skylights in some of the units.
The building was built in 1904 as a grocery warehouse for Bentley-Settle & Co. To retain its historical character, the building’s original wooden floors have been left untouched and its brick walls left exposed.
“That’s historic fabric,” said Appel, who bought the building in 2016.
The building’s upper floors have been mostly vacant for decades. And when Empire Brewing closed in 2019 after a 25-year run, the building was left almost entirely vacant.
The basement space that was home to Empire Brewing for all those years will soon be filled by Whiskey Coop, a 150-seat brewpub with a — you guessed it — whiskey theme.
Plans for Whiskey Coop were announced two years ago by Cheryl Chaif, its principal owner. She also owns two nearby pubs — Tallman Cocktail Club and The Hops Spot.
Renovations to the former Empire Brewing space began in February. Chaif said she anticipates an opening in early June.
The main entrance will be from the first floor of the building, though the basement level entrance used by Empire Brewing will still be available (minus the old metal canopy).
Chaif plans to operate a retail store just inside the first-floor entrance, selling bourbon-related merchandise such as glassware, cocktail mixers and bourbon barrel-laced coffee.
Also planned for the area just inside the entrance is a small liquor store featuring bourbon and other whiskeys. Chaif said that will not likely be ready in time for Whiskey Coop’s opening because of how long it will take to get a liquor store license from the state.
And for those of you who are wondering, Empire Brewing’s bar has been torn out, along with the brewing tanks that occupied a corner space. A new bar featuring a brass top is under construction against the location’s eastern wall, now featuring its original stone foundation instead of the tile that covered it during Empire Brewing’s days.
“It’s going to be a different place,” said Chaif.
Two elevators serve all seven floors of the building, though only tenants will be able to access the top five.
“I’m very excited that the building will be running on all cylinders by June, and this time around it’s going to be more creative,” said Appel. “This building, ultimately, I hope will be known as the arts building. Colloquially, it will always be the Bentley Settle building, of course, but I’d love for it to be known for art.”
Note: Anyone interested in renting one of the apartments may call Appel at 917-848-0152.
Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | X | Facebook | 315-470-3148
