Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Of the three major Collegetown apartment projects currently underway, 327 Eddy is probably the least “impressive” to look at because it has yet to begin putting up structural steel. But this isn’t to say there isn’t work underway.

The site has been excavated and the base of the building has been established. A steel rebar grid mesh can be seen at the base of the upper tier, with utility lines feeding through. The rebar mesh is a reinforcement for the concrete when it gets poured, helping to prevent cracks that may from in the concrete from spreading throughout the foundation and causing major damage. The lower building tier have yet to receive the rebar mesh, but given the elevation render, it might be filled out first with the “flowable fill” referenced in the last update. Rimming the base are steel sheet piles, which lock together to form a wall designed to keep spoil and water from neighboring properties from spilling onto the construction site.

Plans call for a new 5-story building split into “steps” on the steeply-sloped site. The mixed-use building will bring 1,800 SF of retail space and 22 new apartment units with 53 bedrooms to the market in August 2016. Longtime Collegetown landlord Steve Fontana (of the Fontana’s Shoes family) is the developer, Jagat Sharma is the architect, and GM Crisalli & Associates of Syracuse will be overseeing construction. A construction loan of $4,824,000 is being provided by Tompkins Trust Company.

Note in the elevation drawing below, the building is six stories. It was reduced to five, and the decorative crown was reworked after approval was granted.