Onondaga County
Syracuse, New York
The Lakeview Amphitheater is proposed as a new outdoor events center located on the western shore of Onondaga Lake. In 2014, EDR collaborated with our partner consultants to provide master plan design, visualization, and environmental permitting services to Onondaga County for this “world class” venue. The site plan features pedestrian walkways, festival grounds, and a nature area, as well as a connection to the recently completed extension of the West Shore Trail. EDR’s conceptual rendering of an amphitheater on Lakeview Point helped Onondaga County and the consultant team to visualize the project, and were used by our client to communicate and promote the amphitheater concept, generate local support, and obtain state-level funding for their proposal. EDR worked closely with Onondaga County (the Lead Agency) and the project team to assure compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and managed the preparation of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and SEQRA Findings Statement. EDR also performed multiple resource-specific analyses in support of the DEIS, including ecological and cultural resource evaluations, as well as a visual study that involved two 15-foot by 6-foot helium-filled balloons raised to the approximate center of the two amphitheater locations, and an assessment of visual impact from more than 100 representative viewpoints. The SEQRA documents are available for review at http://www.ongov.net/environment/amphitheaterdocs.html.