Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Mostly just clearing out my stash at this point; as the webcam shows, exterior framing is up to the third floor.

A number of changes have been made to the City Centre project, inside and out. Whitham Planning and Design shepherded the alterations through the planning board, which was generally okay with them. Among the revisions:

-Landscaping Changes. Among them, street tree species and layout, and tree grates are being replaced with FlexiPave porous paved covers. The number of shrubs was decreased, perennial flowers increased. Bike racks were relocated, street lights, curbing and curb ramps were adjusted, concrete planters were added by the parking drop-off area, a pergola with string lights was added, bollards were added, the sidewalk width along East Green Street was reduced from 6′ to 5′, and pavers were changed to a slightly darker shade of grey.

-On the first floor, the lobby layout was reconfigured, and some exterior doors were relocated for ease of access. The number of retail spaces was reduced from four to three, but the total square footage for the retail is about the same (11,000 SF). A storm water vault and fire pump room were added in the underground garage, and the parking spaces were reconfigured slightly to accommodate (still about 71 spaces).

-The unit mix has changed from 61 studios, 78 one-bedrooms, and 53 two-bedrooms, to 33 studios, 120 one-bedrooms, and 39 two-bedrooms. Still 192 units total, but with fewer studios and two-bedrooms and more one-bedrooms, basically. This might have to do with what’s easiest to rent to the target market (young professionals, a few downsizers, deep-pocketed students). Perhaps studios aren’t seen as having enough space for the upmarket market segment.

-The exterior facing materials have been changed from Nichiha aluminum panels to Overly Dimension XP Metal Systems, and Alucoil Larson ACM aluminum panels. The color palette is generally the same, perhaps slightly greyer with the revised paneling. Air intake vents were added to the building facade. Fenestration (window size/arrangement) was also changed up.

The floor buildout is a rather interesting process, because they’re practically building from the inside-out as each floor is added. The interior steel stud walls and structural steel supports go up first, then roof decking overhead, and then what appear to be prefabricated modular exterior wall panels with Marvin Windows already fitted. The dark panel is Dow Thermax Xarmor, which apart from sounding like a Star Wars extra, is a heavy-duty fire-rated fiberglass insulation board covered with a dark exterior facer that serves as a water barrier. These panels can be set into place very quickly, saving time and labor costs. The ground-level is more typical fireproof gypsum sheathing. The steel rails on the upper floors are likely for the aluminum exterior panels, so they may clipped into place.

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