Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Another development piece to get everyone through the work week, although this is an update to a known project, rather than a totally new work. That doesn’t make it any less interesting though, because it’s quite a stretch, literally and technically.

The focus of this post is on the Carey Building, which was previously covered on this blog here, and in exhaustive, soup-to-nuts renovation details over at IB. For this port, drawings are here, FEAF (environmental assessment form) here,

Now we have some real meat to work with, it appears the details of the project are malleable, pending zoning. The Carey Building is in a zoning that allows a max 60′ – no doubt something that their neighbors in the parcel surrounding them, the proposed Hampton Inn downtown, are happy about (the Hampton’s max height in zoning is 100′) – note the boxes below are for illustrative purposes only.

Well, the developer of the Carey Building, local firm Travis Hyde Properties, would like to appeal to the zoning board regarding that whole 60′ height limit. they would like to add on another two floors, to make for a 7-story, 85′ structure (78′ if not counting the stair tower). The render below is billed as a massing study, which I can only hope given the incredible dullness of those windowless flanks. To build floors 3-5 (12,600 sq ft total), the developer does not need a variance, and originally (as seen in the previous post), there was no plan to exceed the height limit and approach the city for a variance. Floor 3 will hold 3,600 sq ft of office space, and 4-5 will hold 14-16 micro-apartments. The extra 3,600 sq ft that would be built if the variance is approved for floors 6 and 7 would house 2 or 3 larger apartments.

This kinda makes for an unusual situation given the large hotel proposed right next door. The logistics will almost certainly be a complicated affair if both of these proceed in overlapping time-frames. My inner realist expects that Lighthouse Hotels will not be amused by this vertical air-grab. We’ll see what happens as the current $1.6 million renovation of the second floor is completed this July.