Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Seems fair to move this one over into the construction column. Introducing 107 South Albany Street.

The State Street Corridor represents one of Ithaca’s best possibilities for infill development. It’s a mixed-use area with a hodge-podge of buildings and styles, from ornate century-old properties to commercial utilitarian structures. It has a number of sites that have easy access to downtown and amenities, permitting a walkable lifestyle. It’s also less expensive than downtown properties. With this in mind, the city rezoned much of it in 2013 to allow for 5-story buildings, up to 60 feet tall, with no need for parking. The zoning was a simple box overlay regardless of lot lines, which resulted in some “secret” infill opportunities like 512-514 West Green Street, whose rear yard was in the rezoned area, and as a result, owner Carmen Ciaschi was able to legally slip in a two-family home without adding additional parking.

107 South Albany Street was rezoned as a result of the 2013 overlay. The existing property was a mixed-use two-story home that had an apartment on the upper floors, and converted on the first floor to commercial office functions (law office). This presented an opportunity for the enterprising developer.

Enter Stavros (Nick) Stavropoulos. The West Hill native, whose family runs the State Street Diner, runs a small rental company, Renting Ithaca. However, Stavropoulos has slowly and steadily made his way from management to real estate development – first with additions to existing buildings like 318-320 Pleasant Street, and then entirely new properties like 514 Linn Street in 2015, and a project currently at 1001 North Aurora Street. His M.O. so far has been to find middling properties in desirable locations, and add inoffensive infill rental housing – nothing that stretches code, nothing that will anger the neighbors. Earlier projects were designed by Lucente family favorite Larry Fabbroni, but more recent projects have turned to a low-profile, longtime Ithaca architect named Daniel Hirtler, who runs Flatfield Designs. Stavropoulos picked up 107 South Albany Street for $236,000 in August 2015.

Seemingly, each project he takes on is larger than the last. 1001 North Aurora is a 4-unit project, 12 bedrooms with a hard cost of about $400,000. 107 South Albany is slated to be his latest and greatest yet. The original plan, as introduced in Spring 2016, was to build a new six-unit building at the rear of the existing house, and renovate the house into three apartment units, for one studio, six one-bedroom units, and two two-bedroom units. After a few months of planning board review and critique from the design committee, the 3,954 SF, $500,000 plan was approved and slated to start in July 2016.

However, that plan never moved forward. Instead, this past winter, Stavropoulos decided to submit a new set plans. The new plan called for eleven units and eleven bedrooms, but instead of retaining the existing house, it would be deconstructed and replaced with a new three-story, 8,427 SF building. With its neighbors including a former gas station-turned medical service and older, historic structures, the building’s design is an attempt to bridge the gap. The front sports a cornice, a brick veneer on the first floor, tan fiber cement lap siding above and a traditional window arrangement. In contrast, a stucco finish fiber cement stair tower in the middle of the structure serves as a visual interest for passerby on West State Street, and gives the building a modern touch. The building’s height is capped at 40 feet 5 inches, well below the constraints set by the zoning.

The building isn’t designed for active street use, with a recessed entry and bike storage area for privacy, and no first-floor windows on the front facade. However, in an attempt to create an attractive streetscape, the building uses lighted wall recesses on the exterior, the brick work will have decorative patterns, and a large semi-circular iron trellis that will be adorned with native twining vines. The project cost is $946,600, according to the city’s Site Plan Review document.

As of this month, Finger Lakes ReUse has deconstructed the existing house, cleaned and processed the salvaged materials, and has them for sale at their warehouse/store on Old Elmira Road. The foundation and front staircase are all that remain. The plan is to start construction on the new building in the September/October time frame, and to have it open for occupancy by summer 2018. No contractor or construction manager has been named as of yet.

From June:

From May:

Pre-development:

Isometric Plan and interior layout: