Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Over at 504 South Meadow Street, the concrete foundation pad is in, and the exterior masonry block wall and steel frame appear to be built out. Fireproof gypsum sheathing board are being attached to the structural steel at the back – interestingly enough, the building doesn’t appear to have exterior stud walls, so it’s not 100% clear if the west windows as depicted in the renders will make it into final product. Lighter gauge steel at the front denotes future architectural details like the curved foil vestibule and the modern, clean image Ford wants its franchisees to project. That part’s not really negotiable. Maguire is required to follow a preset design language and the architect (John Snyder Architects) has to keep the design within those bounds. Some interior steel stud walls can be seen in the building’s interior, though it doesn’t appear much progress has been made on the utilities rough-ins (mechanical, electrical, plumbing).

To give an idea of that corporate design language, the recently renovated Maguire’s Ford Lincoln in Palmyra Pennsylvania also has the curved foil vestibule, large glassy facade facing out into the public lot, and muted light and dark greys with aluminum (Alpolic) metal composite panels. The architects can decide where those features go and how they fit together, so long as they fit together in a way Ford approves (and Ford does weigh in – they rejected some of the Planning Board’s ideas, so Maguire had to sort of meet the two stakeholders halfway with details like the rear/west wing masonry. It’s not Ford’s particular desire, and it’s less than what the Planning Board wanted, but they accepted the compromise).

It’s always struck me as a little odd to put in curbing while heavy duty vehicles are still coming in and out of the construction site given the possibility of crushing the newly-laid curbing, but it’s not all that unusual. The new curbing (laid by machine, kinda mesmerizing to watch) gives an idea of where the new greenspaces will be on site. The planning board was very adamant about having a certain percentage of green space on the dealership lot when reviewing the project, which will be filled in with a number of trees and ornamental shrubs much later, when construction is nearly complete.

The last I checked, although approvals have been granted, the Maguire Nissan on Cinema Drive in Lansing village did not yet appear to be underway. The Nissan brand will move to that new 25,200 square-foot location when it is complete.

I’d expect this $1.5 million, 24,110 SF project to be ready sometime next spring. Background writeup and project description here.