OSWEGO – In 2016, New York State’s Regional Economic Development Councils offered Oswego funding as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). Since then, many projects have arose including the newly opened Riverwalk, a luxury apartment and retail building in the heart of the city.
The complex opened up to residents in May, but the newest offering is its “salon suite” as Operations Director Abby Weaver described it. Rather than one salon owned by one person, stylists in the area can rent a room in the suite and become a business owner themselves.
“There is a new concept for Oswego, adding in space for stylists to rent their own suite … it is called Riverwalk Salon Suites,” Weaver said. “It is similar to working in a hair salon where you rent a booth, but instead it is your own suite, your own space for confidential conversations.”
According to Weaver this type of salon for estheticians is the first of its kind in the City of Oswego.
Construction on the 32-unit apartment complex which also hosts three retail spaces cost $9 million, although $2 million came from the DRI grant. The apartments themselves offer a view of both the river and the city. The ownership group of the complex, 22 Crossroads, saw a large demand for luxury apartments, prompting amenities like an indoor parking garage and in-unit washers and dryers.
“There is definitely a demand for downtown living and to have a luxury setting,” Weaver said. “Having the corridor that Mayor Barlow is trying to build and get West First Street all the way down to the lake, where people want to live, work and eat, I think that is definitely the motivation.”
According to Weaver, the retail space will be owned by the same 22 Crossroads but operated by the Oswego Hospitality Group. These are expected to open at some point this summer, according to Weaver, but Riverwalk is unsure of the exact date. The spaces include a pizza shop and bagelry which will offer a somewhat unique service for those living at Riverwalk: room service.
“We are going to have an app for Riverwalk Pizza and Riverwalk Bagel,” Weaver said. “We thought it would be a nice benefit for our residents to take advantage of the fresh Riverwlak Bagel or pizza item. If they are already living in the building, we are willing to bring it to their door.”
Weaver added that contact-free delivery was a rather nice benefit that many used throughout the pandemic, which is part of the reason that Riverwalk created this service. These retail spaces plus the salon suite were planned out specifically, with Riverwalk researching cities similar to Oswego and what does well in those cities. While those cities enjoy places like this, Riverwalk’s focus was what Oswego citizens would want.
“When we researched what other cities have similar to Oswego in size, when we look at what Oswego does not have yet, a salon suite concept is something that Oswego did not have yet,” Weaver said. “We looked at what other cities had and the trends for downtown and what Oswego would need and embrace.”
missing or outdated ad config
Just what we need…. Another pizza place!!! I guess they didn’t realize that Pizza Hut just closed because of too much competition???