News Tidbits 1/31/2012: The Big Red Bandhouse Will NOT Be Open This Summer

31 01 2012

Image Property of Cornell University

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2012/01/31/new-building-big-red-band-will-open-summer

Dear Cornell Daily Sun – If a building starts construction in June 2012 with a tentative completion date of January 2013, in no feasible terms will the building be open by the summer of 2012.

Anyway, semantics aside, the design of the Big Red Bandhouse (or as I like to think of it, Fischell Hall) has been released. It’s a whole lot of Big Red Boring, but I suppose its purpose is more functional than aesthetic. It fits the general theme of ultramodern buildings that the university has more than happy to construct in the past several years.

Image Property of Cornell University

With the extra large front doors open, it kinda resembles a “Dust Buster” portable vacuum.The architects are the same folks responsible for the Plantations Welcome Center.

To allay the fears of the budget-conscious, the building is expected to be paid for entirely by private donations from Big Red Band alumni (in what I imagine will be a veritable inundation of pleas to their alumni to donate). The site is the current location of a small maintenance building (the Schoellkopf Garage), which will be removed and most likely rebuilt somewhere nearby.

I’m not a fan of the design (which should come as no surprise to frequent readers of this blog), but I figure this building was meant to be functional more than anyone else.


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News Tidbits 1/19/2012: Ithaca Develops Its Waterfront

19 01 2012

In today’s “Holy crap WTF” factor, the full scale of the Johnson Boatyard project has been released. I expected to hear about the 20 or so townhomes expected, and that was about it. But the project is, uh, quite big by Ithaca standards.

This starts by going back to last year, when Ithaca modified its waterfront zoning to accommodate larger, denser projects (this was not without contention). It appears that Jeff Cleveland, the owner and potential developer, plans to take advantage of that in a big way.

The proposal for the boatyard is as follows –

The boatyard itself will be closed and 4 buildings are set to be demolished on the site. In their place will go the following:

11 three-story attached townhouse units with a gross square footage of 62,500 sq ft.

5 5-story mixed-use structures. These will contain 130-150 residential units occupying an area of 215,000 sq ft, and another 15,000 sq ft of retail commercial space. This includes 290 parking spaces on the side of Pier Road, with a roundabout installed at the end of Pier.

A plaza, a waterfront promenade, and a pier along Cascadilla Creek. The seawall will be rebuilt and all the boat slips will be retained. Essentially, the entire 7.8 acre property will be completely redeveloped.

This project would, perhaps, give Ithaca the developed waterfront it never had (or following the opinions of some locals, never wanted). The location is a bit weird because it’s outside of the more developed areas of the city (Inlet island seemed like a more logical winner from the change in zoning).  Walking across the promenade will give a lovely view of some trees…and the wastewater treatment plant right across the water. Unusual project, and surprisingly large project, but it wasn’t clear what was going to be built in what phases (my guess is that it is still the townhouses first, and some staggered development from there). Impressive proposal if but only for the scale of the project.


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Where Have All the Drinkers Gone?

13 01 2012

I had first seen rumors of this on facebook, but it was only verified by the Sun sometime last night: The Royal Palm Tavern, or rather, “The Palms”, is closing, after 70ish years of service to the inebriated community (I’ve seen opening dates ranging from the late 1930s to 1944; the Sun went with 1941). The Palms closing next month will mark the third Collegetown bar closing in less than year, following in the footsteps of Dino’s and Johnny O’s.

I think most older readers of this blog have some memory attached to one or more these places. The Alumni Magazine did a nice piece about drinking-holes of yesteryear just back in November, complete with the line “the Royal Palm Tavern—still open, despite recent rumors to the contrary—has served a steady stream of students since the Thirties.” To some extent, I worry with the closure of multiple bars and the restrictions on fraternity parties are only furthering the move to drinking in the rundown houses of Collegetown, arguably a more dangerous environment than the aforementioned options. Let’s be honest, if a third of the drinking establishments in Collegetown have closed, and traffic was pretty high on many nights as it was, the traffic that would go elsewhere might just get frustrated with the lines and crowding and just drink at a private party. For the record, Johnny O’s closed after legal issues and their landlord opted for another tenant, and Dino’s was not allowed to renew their lease. The Palms is closing because of financial issues, and the owners are retiring.

As much as I could pursue an entry just on drinking culture/concerns, I’d rather stick to what I do best – Ithaca history and development. First, the Palms’ property, at 209 Dryden Road,  is not for sale, it has already been sold.

That is, unsurprisingly, a prime, prime piece of property to tap into the more expensive segment of the Collegetown market. Now, being such a prime property carries a hefty price tag, so the developers would have to be fairly deep-pocketed, and in fact they are; it’s the firm Novarr-Mackesey, the same developers of the massive Collegetown Terrace project. The rumor mill has been cranking out the possibility of a mid-rise or high-rise apartment building on the site of the Palms. Unfortunately, at this early stage, it’s hard to say what the proposal will look like.

However, there are two certainties – they’re going to have one hell of a time tearing the Palms down, and if it goes over 60 feet (or over 6 stories, whichever comes first), then it’ll be even more difficult because they’ll need a height variance (B-2b zoning says building should be 6 stories or less, and no more than 60′ feet from base to roof). The zoning could be pliable depending on any fringe benefits for the city or any public enhancements (for example, offering public meeting space). The building was built around the early 1920s, and has operated as a restaurant/bar for virtually all of its life, and is seen as a potential historic landmark. Notably, some of the members of the Planning board also put together the historic buildings document. If Novarr-Mackesey wants to build anything, I see this being a prolonged battle, especially if it needs to go up to the Zoning Board of Appeals, where more objections can be raised.

Honestly, I hope to see something, because if buildings appear totally vacant like this, giving a poor impression to visitors and potential students, that is unacceptable:

Update: The Palms and two neighboring buildings on Dryden were sold last year toan LLC associated with Novarr-Mackesey for $3.75 million, well over their assessed value. In the Cornell Sun, Novarr claims there are no set plans for the location yet, but there will probably be a housing component. Considering his work with Collegetown Terrace, which will not be finished until 2014, it could be a couple years before financing and plans are lined up for the site’s redevelopment – leaving that part of the street rather blighted in the short term.


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News tidbits 1/6/2012: If You Screwed Up Once, You Can Screw Up Again

6 01 2012

As time has gone on and I become more removed from my days at Cornell, this blog focuses less and less on student-specific events, such as Greek Life. But then, news articles like this pop up:

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2012/01/06/after-hospitalization-tke-may-lose-recognition

After Hospitalization, TKE May Lose Recognition

January 6, 2012
By Jeff Stein

Cornell will revoke its recognition of Tau Kappa Epsilon following reports of an alcohol-related hospitalization of a freshman unless the fraternity succeeds in its appeal of the decision, according to multiple sources.

In a memo obtained by The Sun on Thursday, University administrators faulted TKE for reportedly failing to ensure the safety of a highly intoxicated individual — the same oversight that officials say led to the death of George Desdunes ’13 last spring. Sixteen former pledges of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the fraternity in which Desdunes died, joined TKE a few months later.

…

The freshman, who had been consuming alcohol before attending TKE’s event, arrived at a recruitment dinner hosted by TKE at the China Buffet on Nov. 11. While it “remains unclear if he continued to consume alcohol at the dinner,” TKE did provide both beer and hard alcohol at the event, the report states.

…

But as early as September, the University had reason to believe “rumors that SAE has been operating through TKE,” according to the report, when administrators learned of plans for the “White Party” — an event “historically hosted by SAE [as a] social activity attracting hundreds of community members.”

“Out of great concern for the safety of attendees, considering that TKE would not be prepared to host a large event such as this, due to their inexperience, we placed the chapter on interim suspension,” the report states.

The memo then notes that, in a meeting with administrators, fraternity leadership agreed to cancel the event, terminate plans they had to “induct ‘little sisters’” and work with the TKE national organization toward building TKE “traditions that the community could support, as opposed to adopting SAE traditions.”

Despite these promises, “it became clear in that meeting that SAE’s former members, those who were fully initiated and have no affiliation with TKE, have significant influence on TKE as an organization,” the report states.

…

***

I read stories like this and I cringe. I’m a fairly avid supporter of Greek Life at Cornell. But stories like this make me rethink my stance. I understand that the person may or may not have consumed beverages at their recruitment dinner. Okay, innocent until proven guilty. But you’d think for a group of pledges that watched some of their pledgebrothers be indicted for killing someone, they’d use a little more precaution than “we’ll just drop him back off at his room and hope he’ll be fine”.

But that seems to merely be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The administration was bothered by how the chapter became SAE with a different set of letters. I couldn’t agree more. I am strongly bothered by the open flaunting of the SAE connection, and figuratively (maybe literally?) pissing on TKE’s original brotherhood and traditions (not that it wasn’t expected). I don’t know how much of the comments on the article to believe, but I don’t think they’re far from the mark. Calling yourself “Epsilon” because you feel the fraternity that took you in is so inferior you still have to tie it in to SAE (stating the obvious here, but it’s a nod to the fact that both Tau Kappa Epsilon and Sigma Alpha Epsilon share that letter). It just disgusts me. You’re not SAE. SAE of Cornell was doomed the moment George Desdunes died due to alcohol poisoning administered during a pledge kidnapping.

It’s sad. Sad that TKE was so desperate for social status and growth that they sold out everything their brotherhood was. Sad that SAE let someone die. Sad that one organization is gone completely and the other one is about to be kicked off campus. Sad that this reflects on the whole system, which is in a percarious enough position as it is.

What an ignominious way to go. I hope as a Greek alumnus that if my fraternity was ever in TKE’s position that they would just close instead of selling out.

 

 


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The Loyal Opposition to the Tech Campus

19 12 2011
Image Property of Cornell University

Image Property of Cornell University

Congratulations to Cornell on winning the bid for the NYC Tech Campus.

However, to be honest, sometimes I feel like the only alum who doesn’t support the project.

By no means do I not want Cornell to succeed as an institution and give a strong education to those that earn entrance into the university. Plus, it seems unusual given my predilection for the development of physical facilities related to Cornell. It’s just…well, it has to do with Cornell’s identity.

Take Weill for example. Most Cornellians in Ithaca are vaguely aware of Weill’s existence. Certainly, the folks are aware of Cornell being based in Ithaca. But they both function independently. They’re separate institutions that just happen to be under the same Big Red umbrella. From a bureaucratic standpoint, that’s probably for the best. I expect something similar to shape up in the operation of the new Engineering Graduate Campus in New York City.

But some disparities between the two have been troubling. For instance, fund-raising in the “Far Above” campaign. As described in this Metaezra post from June 2010, the campaign was immensely successful for the medical school…but not for the main campus in Ithaca. One line has always stuck out in my mind:

“…so apparently wealthy New Yorkers care more about life-saving research and services than basic research and education a five hour drive from Manhattan.”

This has, in some sense, been my concern with the new campus in New York City. Yes, it will inspire entrepreneurship and innovation and all those other cute buzzwords they like to toss out in brochures. People are also free to donate their money as they choose (as it should be). But to what degree does this development of a new campus affect to the main campus in Ithaca? I’m concerned that so much attention will be paid to this new program that many of our alumni (of which 23% live in the NYC area) will donate to the school in their backyard rather than the one five hours away. By establishing another campus, I also worry that there will be less of a sense of a Cornellian – in my wildest imagination, I fear some future New York City campus alumni will self-segregate themselves – the “I’m a Cornell-New York Campus alum, I don’t associate with Cornell-Ithaca alumni and want nothing to do with THAT Cornell”. At least you can take classes in different undergraduate colleges. I see the mixing of Ithaca and New York activities as fairly rare events. Maybe Stanford was afraid of something similar happening, since the campuses would be 1000s of miles apart.

Maybe I’m being overprotective of the Ithaca campus, or this post will be written off as whining because I don’t like New York City or I don’t support Cornell’s global mission or whatever other reason that floats their boat. But I get nervous when the emphasis seems to be displaced from the campus that Ezra demanded be on his farm on the hills overlooking Cayuga. At the very least, I’m adding my voice to a silent minority that have concerns regarding the proposal.


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News Tidbits 11/16/2011: Cayuga Green II Gets a Revival (and a Revision)

16 11 2011

In terms of Ithaca-area development, I consider myself an optimist. But Cayuga Green’s second phase was one of those projects I had written off as left for dead. For a quick background, Cayuga Green is the formal name for the mixed-use project that has been underway on Green Street in downtown Ithaca for about ten years. The project, proposed for a piece of land that was then-used for a large parking ramp/lot, was aimed to revitalize that section of downtown, but was not without controversy due to its use of property tax abatements by developers Bloomfield & Schon. The first phase includes the new Cinemapolis (one of the results of the controversy was to switch from a new multiplex to a new space for Cinemapolis), the redone parking garage, a creekwalk, and the Cayuga Place Apartments, where the new TCAT stop is.  The first phase was completed a couple years ago.

By a fair account, the project has had mixed success. What has been built is doing quite well. Gimme! Coffee, Palmer Pharmacy and Urban Outfitters filled the new commercial space (all of which were new, not companies that moved space), and the apartments had a low vacancy rate. Cinemapolis has adjusted to its new space and the street is rejuvenated. The project spurred nearby development, including Gateway Commons and the Hotel Ithaca project. The caveat comes from the second phase, which was supposed to start in mid 2007. The financial market started to tank, and this phase had never gained financing, government or private. The space it was intended for, behind the city’s new parking garage, was left empty.

It would seem that is about to change. Thanks to a tip from from frequent visitor and favorite old fart “Ex-Ithacan”, the project is going in front of the Planning and Economic Development Board. The revision is for a six-month extension on the site (construction was supposed to start by 12/31/2011, even after a previous delay),  The amendment notes the project seeks no tax abatements, but must go to the Common Council at the end of the month for final approval.

Also notably, the project is revised. The original proposal looked like this (image from developer’s website):

Which was revised to this:

and now looks like…this (from the agenda):

The newest incarnation is 6 stories, 35 units of condos, and 8,500 square feet of office space, of which about 5,000 feet is reserved for the Park Foundation, a local non-profit. No new environmental review is required, which should save time in the approvals process, and that will be handy since final approval and building permit will have to be issued by June 30, 2012.


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News Tidbits 10/26/2011: I Can Barely Keep Up With All These Proposals

26 10 2011

When I started writing about construction projects, it seemed like they were relatively unreported by different news sources. Now it seems like I can’t avoid seeing an Ithaca Journal or Cornell Sun article detailing some construction project. I dunno if that’s because someone decided that construction is suddenly more noteworthy or if I’m just relatively more observant on these sort of things now that I live outside the area, and information is harder to retrieve. Lately, another reason might be that there’s been a ton of new projects coming down the pipeline.

In the latest Ithaca Times, it has been noted that Fairfield Inn project down in big box land, and the Seneca Way project, have both met their final approvals, which means sites can be cleared and construction can start hopefully in the near future. While that should be no problem for the hotel, the funding concerns with Seneca Way may cause some delays with that project, and it will be a waiting game to see when site prep begins and construction starts. Personally, I’m hoping to avoid a repeat of Ithaca Gun.

Image Courtesy of Cornell Daily Sun

As for new projects, a new sketch plan was proposed, informally referred to as the “Johnson’s Boatyard Housing Project”. The project is sited for Willow Avenue, which lies to the northwest of Fall Creek, on a parcel of land jutting out past Route 13 and across the inlet from Cass Park (so, right next to the city golf course). Apart from the boatyard, there are several light industrial and commercial properties, as well as some undeveloped space. Since the project is planned to be adjacent to Willow Avenue, I suspect it is within the already developed area.

Map Courtesy of Google Maps

The sketch proposal suggests three phases of development.  The first phase, to start next year, will build about 20 townhouses. The second and third phases will be multistory (2-4 floor) mixed use buildings (retail on bottom, apartments on top) built near or along Willow Avenue. Market conditions will decide the final scale and timeline for those phases.

Last but not least, and this falls more into the rumor mill, but Tompkins County is planning a Center of Government building in downtown to place all of its administrative services under one roof. The possibilities range from a new building on the site of the now-vacant old county library, or renovating and adding on more floors to adding 2 or three floors to the Board of Elections Building on Buffalo Street. The final decision will be made within the next several months.

So, quite a bit of news in the past month. The approval of the Breckinridge Project (52 apts, 6 floors), the approval of the Seneca Way Project (32 units + retail, 5 floors), the approval of the Vine Street Cottages project (29 units), the Holiday Inn expansion (9 floors), the approval of the Fairfield Inn project (4 floors), the announcement of the new Humanities Building (66,500 sq ft) and new information on Gates Hall (101,000 sq ft), the announcement of the Johnson Boatyard Project (20+ units)…just a lot of stuff lately. Which certainly isn’t a bad thing.


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The Goldwin Smith Hall Addition

21 10 2011

As a general rule, checking facebook while at work/in the office is a poor use of time. My excuse is that I’ll run some scripts that take a few minutes (or overnight in two cases) to process, thus giving me down time. Well, on the stalker-philic facebook news feed, a friend of mine who happens to work for the university mentioned that Skorton just made an announcement that a new humanities building would be constructed. Technically, this isn’t “new” news, it’s been in the early planning stages for four years, enough that I wrote a blog entry about it almost three years ago. At the time, the project was evaluated to be about 60,000 square feet (35,000 new) with a budget of $45.1 million, in three conjoined structures similar in massing to the original building.

Well, according to the project’s website, the square footage has stayed about the same (66,500 sq ft), but the design has evolved quite a ways. A large atrium will be the centerpiece of the structure, and it will also contain the largest auditorium on the Arts Quad. The building will have a large cafe, faculty offices and classrooms, and be the hub for several smaller Arts and Sciences departments (which ones are undetermined, the only one confirmed to move in is the Romance Studies Dept.). The project, which will be funded mostly through donations, is budgeted at $61 million, with a tentative construction start date of summer 2013 and a completion date of the end of 2015. The building is designed by Koetter, Kim & Associates, the same firm that was responsible for the Physical Sciences Building.

Well, I can’t say I’m particularly impressed. Seems like Cornell is in its next iteration of the “giant atrium for cross-pollination of ideas”, and the overall design, while not offensive by any means, is a rather plain, mostly glass box. Not exactly eliciting much of an impassioned response from this armchair critic.


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News Tidbits 10/12/2011: Hotels, Houses and Apartments (Oh My)

12 10 2011

Lots of news tidbits today.

So, I can’t believe I missed this piece of news on Friday, but it was my department picnic, so I wasn’t exactly around my computer much. In hotel news, the Cornell Sun and the Ithaca Journal are reporting that the Holiday Inn downtown is seeking a nine-story expansion, with the goal of starting construction in November of 2012. The Sun article notes “The expansion, if approved, will replace some of the hotel’s existing structures“, with a tripling of conference/meeting space and in increase in rooms from 182 to 195. A two-story ballroom and entertainment area would also be a part of the plan, to be built on the north side of the hotel. As an added benefit, the addition would create 20 to 25 new jobs.

Looking at the layout, the “Executive Tower” of the hotel is surrounded by two-story wings, which would be demolished as part of the redevelopment. The new nine-story tower will be built on the Clinton Street side of the property (south side). The ten-story tower that presently resides on the property was built in 1984, while the rest of the property, originally built as a Ramada Inn, dates from 1972. The Holiday Inn was last renovated in 2004. The project seems to be within current zoning, which is CBD-100, so the nine story addition will be equal to or less than 100 feet in total height.

***

Image Property of Agora Homes LLC

In other news, the houses and townhomes associated with the Vine Street Cottages project are officially a go. The site has been graded, utilities are being installed and they’re paving the private road through the property (which doesn’t quite make sense to me, since they’re going for a traditional-style neighborhood, but I digress).  The first model house will be complete by the Spring, and the other units will be built as interest demands. The final build-out plans 19 homes and 10 townhouse units. Prices will be in the mid-300,000s for homes and mid-200,000s for townhomes (for the record, the average house in Ithaca is worth about $191,000).

***

Lastly, the Seneca Way mixed-use project has received preliminary approval after receiving zoning variances. Final approval is expected shortly, and the project is expected to begin construction in late spring 2012, with construction lasting nine months. The original financing for the project has fallen through in the year it took to modify and approve the project, but the developer is looking to secure alternative financing. Whether or not they’ll have the resources to start construction as expected seems to be up in the air.  The five-story building seeks to have a parking garage at street level, commercial space on the floor above, and 32 high-end apartments on the upper floors. The building met with angry opposition from neighbors over its height and massing. The take-away here seems to be to tread carefully when proposing new buildings next to historic areas with well-heeled owners.

***

Lastly, for those who don’t read the comment section on blogs, “cornellnz” posted a link of the revised Gates Hall design:

The “deer carcass” structure I criticized seems to be gone, which is an improvement. Those giant pinnacles by the front entrance, however, make me think of “The Aggro Crag” from the Nickelodeon Guts TV show. I’m not sure whether or not to call that an improvement.


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News Tidbits 10/04/2011: Breckenridge Place Clears the Funding Gap:

4 10 2011

From the Ithaca Journal:

“Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services and not-for-profit housing developer PathStone Corporation have received enough commitments for funding needed to build the $14.5 million Breckenridge Place in downtown Ithaca.

Breckenridge Place is planned for where the Women’s Community Building is now, at the northwest corner of Seneca and Cayuga streets, and would consist of 52 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a six-story building.”

Some readers might recall that this building was placed on hold after the initial round of state grants passed them over for funding last year. Now that the funding gap has been cleared, the project should have a relatively steady path to construction and completion (one can hope). The building is still the design of Ithaca-based HOLT Architects, though from the rendering in the paper, it appears to have undergone a revision. The site of the building is currently occupied by the Women’s community Building (shown below).

So, it looks like the development of downtown Ithaca is starting off the autumn season on a strong note this year.


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