Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Maplewood is an example of a well-intentioned and thoughtfully-designed project whose execution hasn’t been so great. It was clear from the start that the timetable was aggressive, but with 20/20 hindsight, it has come clear just how overly optimistic it was – even with multiple daily and weekly work schedule extensions, six townhouse strings were so far behind they were never even marketed for the fall semester (At, Bt, Ct, Dt, Jt-1 and Kt-1 ~140 beds), and at least one apartment building (Building E, 106 beds) won’t be delivered for a few more weeks. The move-in of over 600 students was delayed. LeChase is taking subcontractors to court. The students aren’t happy, Cornell’s not happy, EdR’s not happy, the contractors aren’t happy, labor groups aren’t happy, local governments aren’t happy.

With the issues of construction well noted, I still think the project was a needed asset that increases the housing supply and provides some relief to the ongoing housing affordability issues. The design team was responsive during the development process and the EIS review was thorough. The project will pay 100% of its property value in taxes. The project uses air-source heat pumps, and is a “living laboratory” experiment because an all electric heat pump project of this scale had yet to be attempted in a colder climate like Ithaca’s. Basically, things started going wrong after approval was granted and the construction work went out for bid. For what it’s worth, the students seem to satisfied with the apartments, construction aside.

The 78 photos below (a blog record) go from south to north along Veterans Place, and back south along James Lane. Some of the units were just starting move-in, a couple strings of townhomes were undergoing a final cleaning, and others are still undergoing finish work on the inside and outside. The townhouses and apartment building E haven’t had all their windows fitted and the roof membrane isn’t complete, so they’re definitely still a few weeks out from completion. The bus stop plaza is still a work in progress with stone walls/seating areas underway, and the landscaping is really only complete south of Sylvan Mews, the small through street north of the Community Center. It’s unpolished and unfinished, but it’s coming along, albeit later than expected.

For project background and planning, click here.

For a site plan breakdown, click here.

For a construction timeline, click here.

Webcam link 1 here (updated ~15 minutes).

Webcam link 2 here (updated ~15 minutes).

Serious question – are these trees going to able to survive down here?

I think someone needs to recheck the base of this lightpole and see if it’s actually plumb.

This space will become a playground.