Cornell’s modest but useful renovation of Schwartz Plaza has made significant progress. Gone are the walls that kept the sunken plaza cloistered from passerby, and in its place are stone seats and durable granite setts, for what ideally serves as a visible, attractive public gathering space in Collegetown’s dense quarters. Ornamental grasses will be planted between the seats, and from the renders, it looks like recessed LED light poles will be added as well.
Wood benches will be installed on a granite base below the steel trusses of the far wall, and some of the stone seatings on the near/eastern side will be overlaid with wood benches as well. Hopefully the marble columns get a thorough cleaning; after a few decades, it could use a good scrub. New ornamental bushes and vines will be planted along the trusses and against the back wall of the sunken “forecourt”.
Originally, this was supposed to be done in time for classes, but that seems unlikely at this point. A September finish is likely a fair estimate.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
I’m glad Cornell is doing something with that area. It was always a depressing place to be if you had to stand there waiting for the bus: a plain concrete wall keeping you out of an empty concrete rectangle.
Sunken plazas tend to go unused and I have a feeling it will be quite an unwelcomingly rowdy place at night, but agree it’s still a relative improvement.
Litter will probably be an issue. Still, better this than that wall. Collegetown really needed a visible, public gathering space.
Lovely upgrade. Should add some life to that stretch of College Ave.
If only the Schwartz exterior wasn’t major grody.