Ithacating in Cornell Heights

No recent online presence for John Novarr and Phil Proujansky’s 119-125 College Avenue project, the College Townhouses (which, as covered in the summary page, were townhouse-like until the fire code was changed). The south building is fully framed, a steel frame with gympsum sheathing, a more expensive design but also fireproof. The north building is framed up to the first-floor (the basement is partially above-grade), but the elevator core is topped out, and Welliver’s construction team planted left their mark with an American flag perched at the top. If it’s like it’s neighboring a couple blocks away, the sheathing will get a roll-on waterproof barrier, and perhaps metal rails and clips for installation of fiber cement and zinc panels.

The project, intended for visiting Cornell faculty and staff (so far, there are no online apartment postings to support of refute that plan) will bring 67 units/90 bedrooms to the market, and still looks to be on track for an August 2019 opening.

Quick aside – is everyone clear that it’s Novarr and Proujansky who are planning that Collegetown megaproject? There are so many rumors flying around that even the beat cops are asking my editor at the Voice about it. The project has been delayed twice, but is supposed to make an appearance before the city Planning Committee next month.

There have been some very scary rumors about this project, and one of the big problems right now is that these rumors aren’t being refuted because everything is “a secret”, no one really knows what the truth is. Only JoAnn Cornish, the city Planning Director, has been willing to put anything on the record, and even then it was just a brief description. Since January, this project has managed to be the worst-kept development secret in Tompkins County, which arguably Novarr and Proujansky could try to blame on the mayor for his State of the City address, but really if they had wanted him to not say something, they would have said something to him or said something themselves. I give Newman Development and Scott Whitham a lot of credit for “taking the bull by the horns” and issuing a press release about City Centre before rumors could circulate. I think this project would have benefited from a similar approach.

It’d be one thing if it was a relatively modest proposal. If we were talking about 119-125 College Avenue, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But with this megaproject being described as a $600 million endeavor, there are multiple real estate and related business decisions around the city and county that are in a holdover pattern because everyone’s heard about “John and Phil’s plans” but no one knows what’s going on, not to mention community groups fearing the worst. We’ll see if the big reveal gets delayed again, but for a lot of reasons, I really hope not.