News Tidbits 3/31/19

31 03 2019

1. A couple items of note from the latest Dryden Planning Board agenda – one is a new housing subdivision called Mill Creek, but the number of lots and location is not disclosed. The other appears to be plans for a new medical office building at 2141 Dryden Road, which is currently a vacant lot near near Willow Glen Cemetery. Google Maps seems to struggle with locating the 3.3 acre lot, so the screenshot is from the county’s map. The parcel is zoned “Mixed Use Commercial” and appears to be outside the sewer service areas. This still allows for a pretty substantial building – 40 foot setback from the front, 25 feet from the rear, 7.5 feet on either side, maximum 60% lot coverage and up to 35 feet in height, which for a medical office is typically two floors (13-14′ feet per floor). Put it this way, a building built to maximum dimensions would have a gross square footage of about 86,000 SF per floor, though whatever is planned here is likely to be much less than that. Anyway, it’s something to keep an eye on as plans develop.

2. A sign of the times. The property value of the Shoppes at Ithaca Mall plunged this year, from $31 million to $19.35 million, a 38% drop. This is the result of high vacancy rates and a deteriorating long-term outlook. Downtown boosters will note with some schadenfreude that’s quite a different picture than the state of business affairs a generation ago, when downtown was in the doldrums and the mall (always in my mind the Pyramid Mall) was the center of activity.

This poses a substantial problem for the village of Lansing, but luckily, other development around the village was more than enough to offset the loss of valuation in the mall. Overall property value in the village inched up from $476.3 million to $479.5 million. Borg-Warner’s property value jumped a million dollars, and projects such as the East Pointe Apartments and Cayuga View Senior Living have also contributed to the growing property tax base.

There’s been a persistent rumor that Maguire or Guthrie are buying the mall. The short answer is some outreach was done, and no, they’re not. It’s not even possible for them to do that because Namdar’s mode of operation is to sell off the mall in sections. The long answer, with quotes, will be an article in the Voice next week.

3. When the state wants something, it can move very fast – the request for contractor bids is already out for the new proposed NYS DOT facility off of Warren Road in the town of Lansing. The bids on the $13.8 million project close April 24th. Here are the specs in brief:

“This project includes new building construction of the NYSDOT Tompkins County Sub‐Residency Building as well as site development and construction that includes asphalt concrete pavement, drainage, water & sanitary sewer work. The new NYSDOT facility will consist of office space, workshop space, truck parking and salt storage. The approximate square footage of the various structures are as follows: subresidency
maintenance building (30,000 SF), cold storage (5,000 SF), salt barn (8,200 SF), hopper building/covered lean-to (2,500 SF).

The proposed maintenance building will have vehicle storage for 10 trucks, a loader and tow plow, with one additional double depth mechanical bay and single depth, drive-thru truck washing bay. It also includes an office area (three rooms), lunch/break room (30 people), toilet/shower/locker rooms, storage rooms and mechanical/electrical rooms.

The site will also contain stockpile areas for pipe, stone and millings, and ancillary site features including a fueling station, parking for 40 vehicles, and storm water management facilities. The project will require construction of an access drive from Warren Road and the extension of utilities.”

I have not seen an updated site plan for the project. The image in last week’s Tompkins Weekly is from the SEQR Review, which is outdated. In February, a $1.5 million grant was awarded to build a refueling station closer to the airport, which has resulted in significant site plan changes to the DOT site (I’m not able to find the document offhand, but the written description stated a rotation of the main building and movement of other structures away from the residential properties to the north).

4. Word, or rather warning, to the wise. Local businessman Andrew LaVigne defrauded investors in his “Cascadilla Landing” project, to the tune of $4.6 million. Now he’ll be going to jail for 20 years, which at 66 years old, is most likely the rest of his life. So comes to an ingnomoius end to one of Ithaca’s first major projects of the decade. The 183-unit mixed-use project was proposed in the summer of 2012,  received preliminary approval that September, and did not move any further than that. Plans by local architect John Snyder included a small amount of neighborhood retail space, and covered ground-floor and outdoor surface parking. The land, owned by the Cleveland family, was sold in November 2017 and is now the site of the City Harbor development. There hasn’t been much news about City Harbor recently, but the rumor mill says that a new architect is revising the project design and site plan.

5. I accidentally dropped the ball on the Fall Creek County Office Building study. During the March PEDC meeting in which the concept was being presented, I tuned in online and had taken screenshots for my own reference, and my Voice colleague Devon Magliozzi wasin the meeting doing the official writeup. However, I never checked to see what she was covering and had assumed a big roundup. Her focus, though, was on the Lime Scooters, and it was an excellent piece, but the county office building didn’t make the news.

Anyway, the county presented about eight separate plans, seven of which had the same interpretation for the office building – a 10,500 SF that would be built to include the historic structure at 408 North Tioga in its footprint. Most of the plans differed in the amount of housing and parking, from one single family homes to three single family homes to two duplexes (two two-family units, total of four) to five townhouses. This also impacts the total amount of parking ,which ranged from 27 to 48 spaces depending on the housing footprint and whether tandem parking was used. The last plan was a proposal with no housing on-site, and selling off 408 North Tioga for an office building with an 8,400 SF footprint. All plans assumed a three-story office building plus basement, and housing designs compatible with Sears Street (1.5-2.5 floors). The mix of county occupants is still being determined, and any housing plan would likely involve an affordable housing developer like Conifer or INHS.

The county legislature is expected to get an update on the plans at their meeting on the 2nd, and make a decision on whether or not to buy the Fall Creek property at their April 16th meeting.


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News Tidbits 3/30/19

31 03 2019

original renders

revised renders

1. Let’s start off with an update from the city of Ithaca Planning Board. As reported by the Times’ Edwin Viera, The board was not happy about the proposed changes to the GreenStar project, which were summarized in a previous blog post here. The revised site layout and materials were approved, but the board was unhappy about the loss of windows on the northeast faced and asked for an alternative if windows were no longer feasible, either graphic art or a GreenStar insignia to provide visual interest. The project will be back before the board next month.

Apparently, it was the month to express discontent, as issues were also raised with the City Centre signage and design components of the Vecino Arthaus project, which did away with the grime graphics and went with a marginally better blocky red facade, but I will henceforth call “architectural chicken pox”. Some concerns were also raised with ADA compliance, and the board asked for windows in the stairwells to encourage their use. The environmental review was okayed, and the project will be heading for preliminary approval next month.

The planning board granted preliminary approval to Cornell’s North Campus Residential Expansion, but the project also needs approvals from the town of Ithaca (to be discussed next Tuesday) and the village of Cayuga Heights. The goal is to start construction on the 2,000+ bed project by this summer. The Chainworks District’s final generic environmental impact statement (FGEIS) was also accepted on a unanimous vote – it’s not approval of the 1.71 million SF mixed-use project, but it’s a big step in that direction. The summarized 127-page report is here, and the city report establishing its findings and review of proposed mitigations is here.

This didn’t come up much before, and that’s probably a good thing because it was rather drab, but 402 South Cayuga Street was revised with a larger window on the three bedroom unit (at far left) and some more vibrant colors. However, to stay within budget (something that defeated INHS once before and Habitat for Humanity as well), the project asked to stick with vinyl, to which the board okayed. Expect this 4-unit for-sale low-to-moderate income townhouse project to begin construction later this year, with completion before the year is out.

2. It was a bit surprising to see how far ahead Cardamone Homes has their Woodland Park project planned out. Quick refresher, this is a 65ish unit residential development off of Warren Road in the town of Lansing; the original plan from the early part of the decade was for about 80 units, but it was reduced after initial approvals. The “-ish” part comes from the 25 single-family home lots, since at least one buyer chose to merge with its neighbor. The other part of the development consists of 40 townhomes, and as ecerything Cardamone does, these are high-end “McMansion” style products. A 2,800-4,000 SF Frank Betz-styled home typically goes in the $550k-750k range with a few customized models even higher than that. The 2,500 SF townhouses are priced in the low to mid 400s. This is arguably the only gated community in Tompkins County.

The project began construction around 2014, and it looks like they’re expecting construction to continue through 2026. It looks like 2019 will see four new townhomes (including the two above, 6 and 8 Woodland Way in a photo from last month), and two or three single-family homes along Oakwood Drive. IT’s a bit of a guessing game on the homes because they use “to be developed” (most), “to be built” (2) and “to be constructed” (1). The site also shows three for sale, but it’s dated, as one of those was sold in January. McMansions may not be fashionable as they were fifteen years ago, Woodland Park still sells at a steady enough clip to keep the project moving along. The long story short for Woodland Park is that construction will be continuing at its slow but steady pace for quite some time yet.

3. Just a little something here from the Town of Ithaca Planning Board – the town of Ithaca is looking to build a modest expansion to its Public Works facility. The Public Works department at 106 Seven Mile Drive handles snow removal, paving, yard waste collection, vegetation control, storm water management, and parks/trails/water/sanitary sewer/road maintenance services. The department has been growing in recent years and needs additional space. A feasibility study was commissioned last June, and a plan is now moving forward.

Overall, it’s not a large addition to the 19,400 SF building; 1,425 SF of office space, six parking spaces and minor landscaping and grading. The project is a small institutional addition, and per state guidelines, it will likely not be going through an in-depth environmental review. The addition is a bit unusual in that it’s essentially a bumpout of the existing space, one that creates a completely new face for the public entrance and offices. Expect an unassuming one-story addition with aluminum windows and metal exterior panels. The addition will be designed by HOLT Architects with several engineering and landscaping partners (the usual retinue of T. G. Miller (Civil Engineering), Elwyn Palmer (Structural Engineering), TWMLA Landscape Architects, and a mechanical/electrical engineering firm, Sack Associates). It’s the same group of firms that did the study last year.

4. Quick note to point out that 327 West Seneca Street is nor long for this world, if the plastic and plywood are any indication. They’re indicative of asbestos removal prior to demolition – seal a build up, take the asbestos out, take the building down. Visum Development Group is planning a 12-unit “workforce housing” moderate-income apartment building on the site.

Speaking of Visum, Ithaca’s prolific developer has been scouting new markets for a while, and landed in Boise, Idaho for their next project, “The Vanguard”, an eight-story, 75-unit apartment building in Boise’s downtown. According to local reports, most development projects finish municipal review in two months, something that is flat out impossible for a project of substantial size in Tompkins County. Interestingly, it comes with no parking, and instead hosts bike racks for 75 bikes. Don’t take this to mean that Visum’s no longer interested in Ithaca, however; there have at several projects in the works, including condominiums in Ithaca town, 201-207 North Aurora, 815 South Aurora, 413-15 West Seneca and the State/Corn Street trio.

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

5. Dunno if Instagram embeds are going to work here, but click STREAM Collaborative’s post just above if it doesn’t show up. The modular pieces for 323 Taughannock have begun arriving on site and are being assembled. The units were built by Benson Wood Products and are being put together but a local firm, D Squared (the Dakes) of Lansing.


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310 West State Street Construction Update, 3/2019

28 03 2019

For lovers of old houses, the 1880 Queen Anne-style house at 310 West State Street, dubbed “The Tibbetts-Rumsey House”, is being renovated into a co-op for young professionals, with $500,000 of help from the state’s RESTORE NY grant fund. The plan is to restore the house into an eight-bedroom co-op style living space, with a new modular six-bedroom co-op unit in the rear of the property. The two co-ops are separate.

The money generated by the new carriage house/rear co-op helps to pay for the expensive renovations needed for the existing home, which was in a poor condition due to previous ownership (the Salvation Army). It’s not as architecturally unique as the carriage house that was condemned and torn down several years prior to this project, but it does reuse a couple of design elements. The previous had an irregular shape, brick finish and mansard roof; the replacement will have a rectangular footprint with Hardie Board (fiber cement) siding and a gable roof, similar to barns from the late 1800s time period it is taking its cues from. The project also comes with new landscaping, fencing and eventually, 36 solar panels on the new build’s roof.

The 3,800 SF residence was designed by local architect Alvah B. Wood and built by contractor John Snaith (of Snaith House) in 1880. Wood, a Cornell classmate of the more famous architect William Henry Miller, designed a number of prominent local structures, including the old Ithaca town hall at 126 East Seneca Street (built 1881, demo’d 2003, now the site of Tompkins Financial’s brand new HQ), the Immaculate Conception Church (1896) and the railroad/bus depot at 701 West State Street (1898). Union Army Captain J. Warren Tibbetts and his family were the first residents of the home. It was sold to the Rumsey family in 1885, and they owned it until 1966. The developers are Dr. David Halpert and his wife Teresa Halpert Deschanes. Prior to this project, failed renovation plans included a rental property and a drug addiction treatment facility (long term plans had included the potential for a “safe injection” facility, but the purchase deal fell through and the Halperts swooped in shortly thereafter).

From the Trulia Ad:

310 W. State St.

Bugbee’s Place: Why live alone for when you could come home to friendly faces for $? If you are willing to share you bathroom with one other person, you could live in a high-style 1880 gem, gut-renovated from 2017-2019. All new plumbing, electricity, insulation, storm windows, sprinklers, heating/AC. Fossil-fuel free, ductless mini-splits, refinished floors and walls; all new kitchen and bathrooms.

Alvah Bugbee Wood was a prominent architect who designed churches, railroad stations, schools, and factories. (See his photo in Ithaca City Hall, as a member of the very first Common Council.) Early in his career, before he was sought out for commercial jobs, AB designed a few large wooden houses for wealthy Ithacans. This is one of the few remaining, and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eight bedrooms (ranging in size from medium to huge; plenty of room for queen beds, desks, dressers, bookcases, nightstands; large closets or multiple armoires. Giant Victorian windows with custom interior storms and velvet blackout curtains. Your own individually-controlled almost-silent ductless AC/heating unit. Share your bathroom with one other (individual medicine cabinets; 38″ shower; plenty of linen space. Plenty of storage in the attic.

Common areas include living room with original fireplace, communal-sized dining room, multi-room Victorian kitchen suite (walk-in pantry, butler’s pantry, separate scullery with dishwasher and two sinks; butcher-block chopping station). Gourmet appliances include induction range with 5-cu-ft self-cleaning convection oven, 50 cu ft of refrigerator space, etc. Laundry room with Electrolux front loaders. Original and vintage hardware, deco tiles, and retro color palette throughout.

Fenced-in private yard for your doggies, with patio and raised-bed planters so you can grow stuff. Share the yard with another co-op in the new cottage at the back of the lot. Limited parking.



OLD


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Library Place (Old Library Redevelopment) Construction Update, 3/2019

27 03 2019

Not a whole lot to say at the moment – everything above surface level on the site has been cleared as of the end of February, and grading/leveling is taking place. Part of the existing 1960s foundation will be reused for underground parking, and part of it will be taken out. According to the project team, an examination of the existing foundation column footers vs. the blueprints found that eight of the column footers were not where indicated on the as-built drawings. That created a conflict with portions of the new structure, ans so these column footers are being removed (probably by the demolition subcontractor, Gorick Construction of Binghamton; LeChase is the general contractor overseeing the whole project).

It might seem weird, but this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Half the footers were missing outright at Ed Cope’s Ithaca Glass site, which led to a total overhaul of the project plans (now held by Visum, although I haven’t heard anything about the plan since the transfer was announced in November).

It’s a bit unusual since the project is already underway (or at least, the site prep is), but Library Place has yet to receive approval for a tax abatement. The Tompkins County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) will be receiving the tax abatement application in early April and the board will get their first glance at it on April 10th. A public hearing on the abatement will be held sometime before the May 8th IDA meeting. Assuming the application is approved at the May 8th meeting, pile driving would start within a few days of approval.


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Tompkins Center for History and Culture Renovation Update, 3/2019

25 03 2019

The Tompkins Center for History and Culture is on track to open in a few weeks. I have not seen a specific date, but it will be sometime in April.

I stopped by to take a few quick photos, when The History Center’s Executive Director (and candidate for town of Ithaca supervisor) Rod Howe opened the door and asked if I wanted a tour. Unfortunately, it was not going to work with my schedule that day. Luckily, a sneak peak of the interior can be found on the TCHC’s Facebook page.

***

Throwback time. This photo comes courtesy of Terry Harbin. This was once the 100 Block of North Tioga (across the street from the TCHC. The Blood Building, 109-113 North Tioga, was built in 1870 and also known as the Old Masonic Block.

This photo appears to come from the mid 1960s. For one, the Cornell library to the north (left) has been demolished, and that happened in 1960. For two, the car in the foreground is a 1963 Plymouth Fury, which had a unique slantback front end (growing up in a family of mechanics had to come in handy for something). The car behind it is a 1963 Chevrolet, since most Chevy models upgraded to three tail lights on each side for 1964, and that body style was ’62-’64 only. The truck, eh, not so good with, I don’t remember so many of those in my family’s shops. It’s a Chevy in the same mid 1960s time frame.

Even in Ithaca’s salty winters, the cars probably outlived the building. It would come down in 1966 and, several years later, be replaced by the new Bank Tower addition, which was built from 1974-75. The little third-floor addition on top of that came along in the early 1980s. You can still its outline on Bank Tower’s north face.

Also, note the building that once stood where the Seneca Garage is. It was a last ditch effort to revive downtown, but Urban Renewal removed a lot of tired but attractive buildings that Ithaca and many other communities are trying to recreate (in form if not necessarily style) today.


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Harold’s Square Construction Update, 3/2019

24 03 2019

It seems we can move this one back into the under construction column? It’s been a weird few months.

The developers, L Enterprises (David Lubin) and Mcguire Development of Buffalo, parted way with Taylor the Builders, the construction manager, back in January. They were able to line up another construction manager in LeChase Construction of Rochester, which has done its fair share of work around Ithaca and Tompkins County. Issues with transferring control and insurance paperwork of the 300-ton crane, however, delayed the project’s construction by several weeks, but the project did finally resume in early March.

I can tell you that whole “craziness”, as project rep Vicki Taylor Brous put it, gave a lot of city staff and elected officials heartburn. Given the city’s recent policy of advocating for density and downtown development, a hulking, stalled steel skeleton was the type of thing that was going to really make any future project a difficult sell.

It was also very upsetting for neighboring business owners. The project has already created some frustration with its blockading of the Commons playground out of safety concerns. The construction, and lack thereof, created an unattractive nuisance, with people steering away from neighboring businesses and taking their money elsewhere. The abatement was shifted forward a year, but not without significant blowback from members of the general public who had taken the opportunity to air their grievances with the development team. The current plan is to have the office and retail space available for occupancy by the end of the year, with housing occupancy by spring 2020.

At the crux of the issue are claims by Taylor that the project had undergone significant changes and that Taylor wanted to be compensated for the late changes. Although downplayed at the time, it became clear in the months since that there were major programmatic and minor aesthetic changes. The programmatic change was the reduction of 30 micro units (for a new total of 78) to make way for an additional 10,000 SF of office space for an unspecified tech tenant, as mentioned in the revised IDA application. (For those curious, the rumor mill says it’s a growing local tech firm; 10,000 SF is about the right size for a 40-50 person operation). Most of its commercial spaces appear to still be on the market.

There have also been some substantial if overall minor aesthetic changes, partially as a result of transitioning some residential space back to commercial offices. Some of the metal panels are being replaced with a terra cotta exterior finish, elimination of a mechanical screen because the equipment was smaller than first anticipated, the addition of balconies on the corners, the elimination of two windows per floor on the south face in order to comply with International/NYS Building Code, and window revisions on the fifth floor for the new tenant.

The renderings at the end of this post were published in 2018. The designs are for the revisions that were reviewed by the planning board last month, with the exception of the fifth floor office tenants and changes to suit them. The only reasons I can come up for waiting to submit these changes, was that either they didn’t have to (as mentioned before, after approval, the circumstances required for re-approval are rather murky), or that they weren’t sure what was going to happen with the fifth floor and wanted to have all their revisions in one package to avoid further trips to the board. It’s not clear when they began negotiating with the tech tenant, and when Taylor started to have issues working with the developers.

Anyway, work has recommenced on the steel structure, as the eighth floor is built out. Since the upper floors have small floorplates, the building’s steel structure will likely top out before the start of summer. From there, it’s fireproofing, sprinkler systems, exterior and interior wall framing, rough-ins, sheathing, and all the fun stuff that makes a building begin to look like its final product.


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City Centre Construction Update, 3/2019

24 03 2019

All of City Centre’s retail occupants have been identified – The Ale House, Collegetown Bagels and Chase Bank. Although two of three are cannibalizing other Downtown locations, the move comes with some benefits – it’s an expansion for CTB and the Ale House, and the Ale House is expecting to add 20 jobs, and CTB will likely add a few new positions as well. Chase is totally new, and if the average bank branch is 2,000 SF and 6.5 staff, it seems safe to assume that a 5,357 SF branch/regional office is probably 12-15 staff. Ithaca’s own HOLT Architects is engaged in some minor building design work and Whitham Planning and Design is doing the landscaping (including the heat lamps, string lighting and fire pits), Saxton Sign Corporation of Auburn will make the signage, Trade Design Build of Ithaca and TPG Architecture of New York will flesh out the interiors, and East Hill’s Sedgwick Business Interiors will provide furnishings. Clicking here will allow you to scroll through the interior layouts for the retail spaces.

A glance at their Instagram suggests that as of a week ago, about 100 of the 192 apartment units have been reserved. There don’t appear to be any particular trends in the unit selection, an off-the-cuff suggests a similar occupancy rate for studios, one-bedroom and two-bedrooms, and there’s no strong preference in floors, though perhaps there’s a slight preference towards interior-facing units (I wouldn’t call it statistically significant). It appears they’re filling at a good clip now that graduate and professional students are making their commitments to Cornell (professional students, for example business/MBA and law/JD students, tend to be older and wealthier, and are one of the target markets for the project). If trends continue, the project will be in good shape for its June opening, with full retail occupancy and high residential occupancy, even at City Centre’s decidedly upmarket prices.

On the exterior, some of the Overly and Larson ACM metal panels have yet to be installed (mostly on the back./interior side), trim and exterior details are partially in place, and the ground level is still being built out with commercial doors and utility fixtures (garage doors for commercial deliveries, for example). The roof membrane doesn’t appear to be in place yet either. Overall, though, the exterior is substantially complete, and it looks like the will finish out over the next several weeks on schedule, which is a pretty big deal for a 218,000 SF $53 million project. Kudos to Purcell Construction and their subcontractors on that. Signage and landscaping will also go in this spring. I’m not big on the patterning of the metal panels (which looks like design by MS Paint), but it seems to be the go-to exterior material of choice.

Background information and the history of the project can be found here.

 


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Bank Tower Renovation Update, 3/2019

23 03 2019

It looks like interior cabinetry, fixtures and trim are being installed in the renovated Bank Tower’s first floor. As readers may recall, the first and second floors of the building will serve as the new headquarters for CFCU credit union. According to the Fane Organization’s Bank Tower website, renovated office space on the upper levels became available for occupancy in December. It doesn’t look like the website was recently updated, but the Loopnet listing was, and the put they offices on Craigslist as well. Here’s the ad:

“Locate your office in the best space on the Ithaca Commons. Bank Tower Offices, at the intersection of E. State Street and N. Tioga Street. Office suites on floors 3 – 7.

Completely renovated, with energy efficient VRF HVAC throughout, new windows, all LED lighting, high speed internet, luxury marble bathrooms and break room on each floor in a two elevator building. Secure access and security cameras.

Conference rooms with large video displays available.

Floors 6 and 7 feature open floor plan promoting community and collaboration in the workplace.

Floors 4 and 5 utilize historic building features of tall ceilings, big windows and inter-suite door systems so your space can be as large or as small as you need.

Floor 3 is newly configured with the conference rooms, spacious offices, and lots of interior glass for a bright workplace.

Contact us today for your personal showing. Available March 1, 2019.”

Taking a guess here, the webpage hasn’t been updated in a little while. The Loopnet posting is more informative.

“Bank Tower Offices is a rectangular, seven-story building that is constructed in the Art Deco style. The main commercial building was built between 1932-1933, with three additions in 1965, 1974 and 1982. It is being completely renovated, with completion date of March, 2019. The first and second floors are being occupied by CFCU Credit Union, with floors 3 – 7 available for lease. Renovation features include energy efficient VRF HVAC throughout, new windows 3 – 7, all LED lighting, high speed internet, luxury marble bathrooms and break room on each floor in a two elevator building. Secure access and security cameras, conference rooms with large video displays. […]”

The ad then repeats the Craigslist post, which seems like a subtle nod to Loopnet being the place for serious commercial leasing opportunities, while Craigslist is where you go looking for used couches. The attachments on Loopnet show that all five of the upper levels are available, with spaces ranging from 225 SF to 20,000 SF. Internal doorways between office suites give some flexibility on the lower floors for an almost-modular office space approach to expand and contract as needed, while floors six and seven go with the more fashionable open office floorplan. The ads suggest that, if 20,000 SF is the max available, and there’s 37,151 SF of leasable space, then CFCU is taking 17,151 SF. Interior photos below are from the Loopnet post, and show a suite arrangement on the fifth floor and the open plan on the sixth floor. No price per SF is listed, but phone inquiries can be made with Fane’s management firm, Ithaca Renting.

The project website itself, which is a bit hard to find (www.banktoweroffices.us), shows updated renderings for break rooms, bathrooms and state-of-the-art conference space on the third floor. Renders for the new first floor interior and exterior signage/decor are included in this post. The 1970s addition on the north side appears to get a hanging living wall treatment. Doing a cross-comparison, the new windows and cleaned exterior do a nice job sprucing up the nearly 100 year-old building.

 


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Masonic Temple Renovation Update, 3/2019

23 03 2019

This project continues to crawl along at its slow if steady pace. It appears that the deteriorated concrete steps are being replaced. Seems reasonable to think the door is covered over because there happens to be a gaping hole on the exterior side; sure, there’s a slapstick comedy aspect to that, but I still remember when two workers fell through an elevator shaft at the Fairfield Inn when that was under construction six years ago, and not only were there severe injuries, the lawsuit put the local living-wage contractor out of business.

It also appears that new historically-appropriate windows have been installed, and the railings have been installed for the new cellar stairs and the wheelchair ramp to the auditorium space. The graffiti has been there. It’s not clear if the roof membrane has been replaced yet, and the exterior will be cleaned at a later date. The outside is fairly far along, but from the windows there appear to be few if any signs of significant interior work underway.

As before, there has not been any news regarding commercial tenants signed up to fill the renovated space once it’s complete – a January posting on Loopnet listed a 4,000 SF space on the first floor, a 6,668 SF space on the first floor, and 6,666 SF space split between the second and third floors. A retail renter of the whole building gets a discounted price of $8 per square foot for a five-year lease, whilerenting just one of the spaces will cost $10-$14 per square foot for a five-year lease. The Fane Organization tends to be very tight-lipped about their business deals, so no word on any potential tenants. The $1.5 million renovation is being designed by architectural preservation specialists Johnson-Schmidt & Associates of Corning, and renovated by McPherson Builders of Ithaca.

 


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238 Linden Avenue Construction Update, 3/2019

22 03 2019

Like 119-125 College Avenue, 238 Linden is being designed by ikon.5 Architects, With similar aesthetics and structural design (and more than a passing similarity to the 2,000 bed Cornell North Campus dormitory expansion, which has the same development team) looking at this project is essentially like looking at the next steps for its larger sibling a couple blocks away. However, while 119-125 College Avenue uses Welliver as its general contractor, Hayner Hoyt is in charge of buildout for the 238 Linden site, with several subcontractors on site (for example, the roofing is being done by Hale Contracting of Horseheads). Like its sister building, this project has no online presence apart from what was documented by the city or reported by the Voice and Times.

Interestingly, the window frames protrude from the wall rather then sitting flush with the set opening. The waterproof barrier is on over the gypsum panels, and the metal rails for the fiber cement and zinc panels are in the process of being installed on the north and west faces.

It was clear at first glance that the footprint of the building is markedly different, and the fenestration is nothing like the approved renders at the bottom of the post – there are fewer windows overall, and honestly I’m not sure if the building footprint was reduced in size. It was supposed to be 24 studio units, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were only eighteen now. There was no public reviews for these changes, and these are by no means minor tweaks. The line between a large new construction project redesign requiring board re-approval, and a redesign only needing staff approval is rather murky.

A history and overall description of the 238 Linden Avenue project can be found here.


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Categories : collegetown, construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, student housing

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