Developer eyes Lansing lot for restaurant, drive-thru plans face pushback

A new chain restaurant could come to the village of Lansing in the near future — if there is a right fit, according to a Syracuse-based developer interested in developing a vacant lot in Lansing. 

Chris Fiello, the Syracuse developer, announced his plans to try and transform the site of the former Imperial Kitchen Buffet at 11 W. Graham Rd at the village of Lansing Planning Board’s June 24 meeting. The property last sold in 2016, according to Tompkins County tax records, for $590,000. It was purchased by Watersprite LLC, a limited liability corporation out of Skaneateles. 

Fiello does not own the property currently, but he noted that he has an option to buy it. Fiello is the vice president of leasing at Summit Properties U.S.A., a real estate group specializing in initiating, developing, holding and managing yielding properties across the residential, retail, office, logistics and cold storage facility markets. 

The company operates in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany and Luxembourg. 

In his informal presentation to the board, Fiello said that he wants to have a plan that the board will accept, as well as the right partner, before making a decision on developing the site. His theoretical plan includes not only the demolition and redevelopment of the site of the former Chinese food buffet, but also surplus land around it. 

“I don’t want to do it until I know I can get something done,” Fiello said. “So the goal is to really develop the whole parcel. It’s an eyesore.”

Part of that process for Fiello has entailed identifying the best use for the parcel. 

“I have been working to find tenants and really fill a need or bring what people are looking for here,” he said. “So, food seems to be the biggest focus.”

Fiello said his prospective no. 1 tenant would be Chick-fil-A, the popular fried chicken restaurant. 

“I am working like crazy trying to land them,” he said. “I haven’t made as much progress there as I want, but that’s something I’m working on.”

A tenant who has answered the call is Chipotle. If the partnership is successful, a potential West Graham Road location would be the second Chipotle in the county. 

“This prototype is their newest prototype,” Fiello said. 

Some prospective tenants that Fiello has spoken to have expressed that drive-thrus are a must for their potential businesses. 

But some opposition to that proposition emerged at the June 24 meeting. Board Member Lisa Schleelein said that the curb-cut required for the installation of a drive-thru is a deal-breaker. 

“If they want this, really, if a chain needs to have a drive-thru, we’re going to have to figure out a different way to get this,” she said.

Similarly, Board Member Yamila Fournier said that the village is in the process of reviewing and retooling its zoning and that village residents have vehemently opposed the presence of more drive-thrus. 

“One of the things that has become crystal clear as far as the desires of the people of the village of Lansing is that they do not want suburbanized development. We want village-like urbanized development,” she said. “Nobody wants another drive-thru. It’s been made clear in the surveys. They do not want to see more of this.”

Fournier said that the area is ripe for mixed-use development.  

“Honestly, you will make a lot more money if you make a multi-use building here with 60 housing units and commercial on the ground floor, and it would advance the village goals in a much more significant way,” she noted.