A generalized summary can be found on the Voice here. The concrete frame for the Veterinary School expansion is up to the third and final floor of what will be the new Flower-Sprecher library. As build-out continues, the existing building behind (east) of the new construction will come down and be replaced with new program space; the second floor will sit above an entry court and pedestrian walkway that leads to an indoor gallery space and central courtyard. The open space on the right (south) side of the structure will be a two-story atrium space. The addition will have a glass curtain wall, and the academic spaces that face the gallery will be faced with wood panels.
Cornell and general contractor Welliver will be looking to bring the project to completion by June 2017. Weiss/Manfredi is the project architect.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
Cornell has as much going on as the rest of the city put together. I guess financing is not as big an issue for the University. **shrug**
Sometimes I think it may have been a missed opportunity that Cornell was founded on, and/or IC moved to, the hills. Imagine downtown Ithaca with the buzz and dynamism of one of these schools’ or all of their buildings mixed with the commerce of the city (far fewer storefronts would be vacant, I’d think), and without commercial space spread between downtown and Collegetown. There would even be less need for expensive bus routes, since they would all converge at one central point. Ithaca would be more like New Haven (hopefully without the decay/crime) or Oxford/Cambridge (both the one in the US and in the UK).
The cons are that housing costs might be way more expensive closer to the city core (though probably not overall, given the same supply/demand ratio – and possibly not, if large university buildings had made density less of a problem in the past) and there might be much more noise/nightlife there. The hills would provide space for quiet residential enclaves, but it’s less likely there’d be an urban commercial area in Ithaca that catered more to adults (though possible one may have evolved elsewhere, like the West End).
Keep in mind that Cornell can borrow taxable bonds as well as raise money from private donors – two things private developers can’t do on nearly the same scale.