Facade installation continues on the exterior of the City Centre project on the 300 block of East State Street. According to project representatives, all three commercial retail spaces on the ground level have been reserved. Along with the Ale House, the other spaces will be “a financial institution and a new dining experience from a beloved local restaurateur”. The rumor mill has suggested a couple of names for that restaurateur, and that the initial concept was to be Italian, but with the opening of Pasta Vitto across the street, the tenant is taking the restaurant in a new direction.
For those interested (and not necessarily looking for a new apartment), City Centre has finished out a few model units for hard hat tours. You can stop by the leasing office on the Commons to schedule a walkthrough.
Some of the project team members have started to tout their involvement with the project, which is generally a good sign (it means they’re proud of their work). The image above comes from Whitham Planning and Design, of which I’m kinda jealous. Meanwhile, the regional Carrier equipment dealer is touting the project’s use of a Toshiba-Carrier VRF HVAC system – Variable Refrigerant Flow, the technical name for the electric heat pumps the building utilizes. The heat pump system and its units are being installed by Petcosky and Sons, a heating and plumbing subcontractor out of Vestal. Purcell Construction is the general contractor (and their City Centre webcam is here).
The project is still on target for a June 2019 opening. The project background and description can be found here.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
It’s a relief to hear the retail spaces have been rented. Mixed-use development like this is supposed to create usable street fronts with more publicly accessible spaces, but elsewhere in Ithaca (ahem, Collegetown) the storefronts just stay vacant, and the landlords don’t seem to care because all the apartments are rented.
Given one of the tenants is Ithaca Ale House, it may be the case that the others were also lured from smaller or less ideal spaces elsewhere downtown, though, leaving other spaces vacant.
Personally I was hoping for something other than a bank and restaurants, of which there are already many downtown. When a Target City was floated for the site awhile back, it was an exciting possibility. A large, 24 hour pharmacy would have filled that role as well and really been of service to downtown residents relying on less ideal options for sundries.
This looks like it will be a beautiful place to live and experience Ithaca!