Conifer Village
Two little planning tidbits of note. One is that a company that specializes in senior citizen housing complexs is scouting sites in the town of Ithaca near the Cayuga Medical Center [1]. The company is currently beginning work on a $10 million, 120-unit complex in Horseheads, which is effectively suburban Elmira (yes, people actually live in Elmira, and it’s a lot like Ithaca, just without the prosperity and colleges). The parcels the company is checking out aren’t too far from one senior citizens’ facility already located on West Hill, a 36-bed facility known as Alterra [2]. None of the company’s facilities are subsidized, so it’s unlikely to be different if an Ithaca location was constructed. This comes on the heels of the Conifer Village senior housing, which was also built on West Hill (72 units, completed last year). In the same vein, McGraw House in downtown Ithaca is planning a 25-50 unit expansion, and is currently in the development stages [3].
So yeah. Old people like Ithaca. I think it’s part of a trend of retirees moving to college towns to enjoy a “higher quality of life” and increased educational and cultural venues that are often associated with such communities. The New York Times did a story on it not too long ago [4].
In other news, Ecovillage is planning its third community, TREE. This goes with the previous two facilities in that area, SONG and FROG. The 30-unit addition, with a new “education facility”, has a tentative construction start in 2010, and for completion in early 2011 [5]. Ecovillage currently has 60 units at its West Hill location; White Hawk, another ecovillage, has plans for 30 total units over the next few years at its Danby location (for the record, Danby is a town just south of Ithaca). Hippies like Ithaca too. But, I s’pose that’s not really news.
[2] http://www.health.state.ny.us/facilities/adult_care/county/tompkins.htm
[3] http://www.mcgrawhouse.org/expansion-project/
[4] http://www.nytimes.com/ref/realestate/greathomes/GH-Retire.html
[5]http://tree.ecovillageithaca.org/
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
Writing from 7 White Hawk Lane. We’re the newest White Hawk Ecovillage residents and possibly just outside the hippie category. When describing what it’s like here to others, I say, “Nature with neighbors on 120 shared acres.” Just a nice place to kick back and raise a family. (www.whitehawk.org)
So I guess old hippies must really love the town. 🙂