Work has commenced on the foundation for the new 3-unit, 17 bedroom apartment building at 114 Catherine Street in Collegetown. Plans were approved by the city of Ithaca late last year, and with the worst of winter over (though snow in early April definitely makes one second guess that), construction has been able to proceed on the new building.
The parking lot that once fronted the street is gone. Wooden forms are in place for holding the concrete once it is poured, and rebar criss-crosses the space between the forms. Rebar is used to strengthen and reinforce concrete, the concrete bonds with the steel bars as it hardens. It looks like the east wall of the foundation has already been poured. A blue waterproof membrane can be seen on the concrete in the last photo.
The architect is a Collegetown favorite, local architectural firm Jagat Sharma. The building is being developed by Nick Lambrou of Lambrou Real Estate. Plans call for a 3-story, 4,180 sq ft structure with a 5-bedroom apartment on the first floor and a 6-bedroom apartment on the second floor and on the third floor. If construction stays to schedule, the building should be completed by August in time for the fall semester.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
These Catherine Street projects effectively consume the entire lot. There is little staging area, and the street is super tight under ordinary conditions. Going to be hectic very soon. Choose another short cut for a few months.
It can’t be seen in the photos, but under the water within the concrete forms is structural fill. The water is pumped out and the concrete cures on top of the cleaned gravel instead of the soft native material. Incidentally, the concrete has to be placed with a pump truck as there is no way to drive a mixer onto the property. One more reason construction in C-Town is expensive.
All of the designs appear to offer a some variation to the scene which is a nice change coming from JS. The buildings surrounding 114 are horrible examples of the “Ithaca Vernacular” imo.