Chapter House / 406 Stewart Avenue Construction Update, 8/2017

17 08 2017

Some good news and some bad news. The good news is, the replacement building for 400-404 Stewart Avenue is well underway. No false starts, no rumor milling. The new structure is quite substantial for a modest three-story building – structural steel frame (currently up to the second floor), steel floor panels, finished basement, – all heavy duty, commercial grade construction, befitting for a mixed-use structure with possible food retail or general retail tenants on the 3,000 SF ground floor. Note the structural cross-beams; those well segments will not have windows. The exposed portion of the concrete foundation wall will be faced with bluestone later in the build-out. The fifth photo shows no concrete between the floor panels and foundation, presumably because the corner entrance will have an interior stairway that steps up to the ground level.

Now for the bad news. I chatted with a worker on the site, and when I said “the Chapter House site”, he chuckled, shook his head, and recommended I don’t use that phrase. “The Chapter House ain’t coming back,” he said before picking up a shovel. “People will forget all about it in four years anyway.” It hasn’t been a secret that the Chapter House likely isn’t making a return, but for many students and non-students, it’s still a disappointment to hear that.

The construction timeline for 400-404 Stewart called for a completion this year, which seems generous. The apartment building at 406 Stewart Avenue has been graded, but construction will not start until later this fall. Hayner Hoyt is the general contractor, with Taitem in charge of the structural engineering.

UPDATE: In the comments, John Hoey, the proprietor of the Chapter House, has written in the comments that he intends to reopen the bar, if not here then elsewhere in Collegetown.


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201 College Avenue Construction Update, 8/2017

16 08 2017

201 College is a work in progress on the outside, but the inside is nearly complete. According to Visum Development’s Todd Fox, who happened to be at the site when the photos were taken yesterday, there are cleaning crews inside, and a certificate of occupancy is being obtained. Renters will be able to move in on Friday.

On the outside however, work is still coming along. From the looks of it, it appears all the woven bamboo siding has been attached. However, the overhead canopy has yet to be installed over the front entrance, and some of the decorative “iron ore” black metal rails and fiber cement panels (“Allura Snow White” and “Gauntlet Gray“) have yet to be clipped on over the structural metal rails. So while tenants will be able to move in for the fall semester later this week, construction on the exterior and landscaping finishes will extend into September. Similarly, the basement area, which will host the fitness room and bike storage, will need a few more weeks before it’s ready for use.

For what it’s worth, 201 College looks just like the renderings provided by its architect STREAM Collaborative, which one would think isn’t a big deal, but it is – there have been cases of developers building something that lacked details of features shown but not explicitly required in approval, which had led to consternation among the planning board and staff.

On another good note, I asked Fox how things were with neighbor Neil Golder, who led efforts to halt the project last year. Since the lawsuit failed, the two sides have been fairly amenable to each other – Fox still offered Golder solar panels on 201 to compensate for shadows, and Golder has let construction workers access his property when trying to maneuver equipment on and off site. Fox said that, in exchange for paying Golder’s water bill, he let construction crews hook up hoses from his spigots to spray down the dust and add water to the concrete.

As 201 wraps up, Fox has his eye on his other approved projects – 210 Linden Avenue, a 4-story, 36-bedroom building, has been excavated and padded (last two photos here), and is waiting on municipal permits to begin construction of the foundation. As with 201 College, William H. Lane Inc. of Binghamton will be the general contractor, and STREAM is the architect. 232-236 Dryden Road, a pair of 4-story buildings with 191 bedrooms, is due to start site prep in September. Two smaller Visum projects, for 118 College Avenue and 126 College Avenue, have no firm construction dates at this time.


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Cornell Ag Quad Rehabilitation Construction Update, 7/2017

1 08 2017

If common spaces are what make or break a campus, then it’s a wonderful thing that Cornell hosts one of the best landscape architecture programs in the world.

With the new underground utilities in place, the remaining work is at or close to surface level. This includes the installation of new plazas, sidewalks, decorative pavers, concrete slab benches, stairwalls, bike racks and seeding. New lamp posts have been erected, a rain garden has been added, and new saplings (54 total) were planted to replace the trees lost to the utilities work. The sidewalks were widened to allow easier emergency access. The east half was finished this past fall, but the west half could only finish utilities work before winter put the kibosh on concrete pours and landscape work.

One of the goals of the refreshed ag quad is to make it a more inviting place to be during the warmer part of the year. By making use of removable furniture and adding seating areas along areas of high traffic and near buildings, the hope is that the space will be more lively and encourage social interaction among Cornell’s many students, faculty and staff. To be fair, it doesn’t look like a bad place to have an outdoor lunch.

At some point, the two temporary structures between Kennedy and Plant Science will make way for a new permanent structure; as for when that happens, your guess is as good as mine. The Pleasant Grove Apartments were built on North Campus as temporary housing after World War II and the influx of students on the GI Bill, but parts of the complex were maintained until the mid 1990s.

The $9.6 million project began last summer, and is scheduled for a completion before the 2017-18 academic year. MKW & Associates LLC of New Jersey is the lead landscape architect, Over & Under Piping Contractors Inc. of Auburn is the GC, and Albany-based CHA Consulting Inc. is providing civil engineering expertise. Background information on the project can be found here.


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Cornell Law School Renovation Update, 7/2017

31 07 2017

On the outside, progress is modest – the windows and CMUs from the upper floors have been removed from the west face to make way for the future glass-encased stairwell. The steel beams sitting in the staging area are part of the Certainteed Drywall Suspension System and will be used in the construction of the new ceilings in the gutted interior, although some of the different gauges present may also be used for interior wall framing. There has been no visible progress on enclosing the loggia yet.


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Upson Hall Construction Update, 7/2017

28 07 2017

Cornell has several projects that are finishing up within the same short time frame. The renovation of Upson Hall will be one of them. Some of the Morin aluminum panels have yet to be clipped over the mineral wool, but the exterior is largely finished. It appears that the ribbing in the terra cotta panels becomes gradually finer from bottom to top. Interior work is still ongoing, from the windows it appears that drywall has been hung, but finishing work, such as interior railings, remains to be done.

The timeline is to have the second phase completed by August, with an eventual third phase that will upgrade the landscaping from simple sidewalks and green space to more complex plaza areas with pavers, stone and wood benches and lighting effects. Given future plans to upgrade the Engineering Quad, the presence of heavy equipment and staging areas close by if not reused means that Cornell prefers to wait until all work is done on the buildings before upgrading the grounds (consider the Ag Quad for example).


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Gannett Health Center Construction Update, 7/2017

27 07 2017

Here are the rest of the photos from the Cornell Health, formerly known as Gannett Health Center. The Voice write-up is here. The project is mostly complete, with some sidewalk and landscaping yet to be completed (the official timeline has the project wrapping up in October, but given the stocked pharmacy and furnished lobby, the project is practically complete from this blog’s perspective). Look for a potential final Voice article later in the fall, as part of an official tour of the building around the time of the ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

On a personal note, I want to briefly send my apologies for the slow updates; I’ve been dealing with a personal loss, and their passing hit me harder than I anticipated. It’s also been a very slow week news-wise, so don’t expect a weekly news round-up tomorrow evening.


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Cornell Veterinary School Expansion Construction Update, 7/2017

25 07 2017

Just clearing out the photo stash – only a small sampling of the photos made it into the Voice round-up. The first set show the new administration and library wing finishing exterior aluminum panel installation, new curbing being laid, and the mostly finished entry and atrium area. The later photos are of the new Community Practice Service building, which is finishing underground utilities routing and foundation work – the new service facility will be one-story and wood-frame, which should allow the structural framing to move quickly.

The new vet school facilities will be open by late August, and the new CPS Building neat spring.


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607 South Aurora Street Construction Update, 7/2017

19 07 2017

Thanks to the rapid turnaround time for modular units, the the duplexes at 607 South Aurora Street in the city’s South Hill neighborhood are galloping towards their completion date next month.

One thing to keep in mind is that, once the foundation has been built (Superior Walls here) and underground utilities are in place (water/sewer), it’s basically a matter of trucking in the boxes from the supplier and craning them into place. Per Ithaca Builds (the website is down but the pages are archived), they’re already framed, sheathed, utilities are mostly in, the interiors have drywall hung, windows and doors have been fitted, and even cabinetry, bathroom fixtures and countertops are in place. 80% of the construction work for the duplex is completed by craning four boxes into place and locking them together. The pros are better quality control, less waste, and a quicker turn around time. The cons to modular units is that there’s generally a limited set of designs and customization, although that has improved in recent years, particularly if a developer has a somewhat generous budget (see the Belle Sherman Cottages for example).

Once the boxes are craned and secured to the foundation and each other, the inside will undergo painting and finish work, while the outside gets faced with the exterior material of choice and porches, garages or other details are attached. Here, the rear three duplexes use vinyl siding, lap siding on the lower floors and shake siding on the gables, with decorative lap bands and color variations to give the outside some curb appeal. These units will have small porches with lattice skirts. The unit facing Aurora will receive nicer finishes since it’s the unit that will be seen the most by passing traffic. This includes fiber-cement siding, a full-width porch with decorative brackets (seen under construction below), and sculpted roof brackets.

Note that the rear of the existing house at 607 South Aurora has been expanded, its roof raised slightly. The original five-bedroom house is being extensively renovated into two three-bedroom units. The eight new units will each be three-bedrooms, going for about $700 per bedroom. To quote the ad:

“This home has 3 bedrooms with 2 baths and everything is BRAND NEW!

Newly constructed in 2017, this home features stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, LED lighting throughout the home, all oil bronze finishes, with large bedrooms and ample closet space. The home is equipped with its own washer and dryer, and can come fully furnished. This property is conveniently located less than one mile from Ithaca College, with off-street parking available, this unit is a beautiful place to call home! This property is pet friendly with the correct pet and owner. 

Other Features:
-Stainless steel dishwasher, refrigerator, range and hood vent.
-Luxury vinyl flooring throughout
-W/D in unit
-Beautiful tiled bathrooms
-Modern-Contemporary Style
-Bedroom Furnishings: includes bed frame, bed mattress, dresser, desk, and desk chair
-Dining Room/Kitchen Furnishings: offer seating for dinning
-Living Room Furnishings: includes a couch
-All Room Furnishings: includes curtains decorating all windows
-Located right up the street from the heartbeat of Ithaca, the Ithaca Commons! Magnificent place to eat, shop, and have fun in the Ithaca area
-The TCAT bus stops near the development.”

A couple blocks away, Modern Living Rentals picked up 217 Columbia Street, which has the potential for a rear unit, although it’s just as likely MLR will simply spruce up the existing two-family. The fact that the rentals are only until 5/31/2018 kinda leaves the door open for some construction work next summer.


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602 West State Street Construction Update, 7/2017

19 07 2017

The new Elmira Savings Bank is open in Ithaca’s West End, and this project is done. A former restaurant is now 5,000 SF of renovated space plus 1,600 SF in a contemporary addition. Design-wise, it’s a smart re-use of a century-old structure, modernizing it but maintaining the integrity the original structure. Kudos to HOLT Architects for a successful blend of old and new. Elmira’s Edger Enterprises brought the $1.7 million project from the drawing board and into reality.

There’s no doubt that the project is further proof in the increased vitality and attraction of Ithaca’s long-forsaken West End, and another step on the the path to turning it into a stronger neighborhood. Within just a block, one has the new Planned Parenthood (2014), the 17-unit Iacovelli Apartments (2013), the renovated HOLT Architects office (2016), a gas station renovated into the Jade Garden restaurant (2015), and the new microbrewery opening up in the rear of the Cornell Laundry warehouse.

If there is one thing I wish had gone different with this project, it was the sale of the property and removal of three low-income families. That got ugly, and it tarnished what was otherwise a decent project. The story I’ve been told in the two years since is that the bank were mislead by the previous owner, who gave them old rental paperwork saying tenants were month-to-month, and ESB mistakenly assumed it was still accurate. So there’s something to be said about due diligence and taking a couple hours out to meet with tenants before any notices go out.

The northern end of the property has preserved a few mature trees, and in the long-run ESB would like to partner with a developer, affordable or otherwise, to do something along West Seneca. Plus, there are organizations like Lakeview, who coincidentally looked at doing a development where ESB is now, and are moving forward with affordable housing in the West End. More opportunities for mixed-use plans with market-rate and affordable housing will open up as properties go on the market and Ithaca’s economy continues to develop – and plans like Cayuga Med’s are big if auspicious question marks.

While it’s great to have new housing plans brought forward, it’s also important to maintain existing affordable housing (and programs to assist) while adding those new options. With Lakeside and Parkside scooped up and pushed upmarket, and Maple Hill now market-rate Ithaca East, that takes hundreds of units out of the equation, and this is a significant concern. It’s no surprise that tensions boiled over given the difficulties in preserving existing LMI housing options, and in approving and building new ones.

Anyway, enough with the final thoughts. Enjoy the photos.

Before:

After:


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902 Dryden Road Construction Update, 7/2017

17 07 2017

Seeing as these are expected to open for occupancy next month, this will probably be the final visit to the 902 Dryden site.

From the outside, these look to be complete. The landscaping is partially done. Grass is down and some of the parking area has been bordered with wood beams, but some sidewalk and plantings have yet to be poured/planted, and the bike shed will come towards the end.  About the only thing left for the buildings thesmelves are a few minor pieces of trim (trim boards, porch light fixtures). I’m still a bit disappointed that secondary colors were dropped in father of a color I like to call “bland oatmeal”, but the variation of shingle-style, lap and vertical siding makes up for it somewhat.

The inside of the units are in varying states of late-stage interior work – one of the end units was nearly showpiece ready with only some minor painting left. Working northward to units less further along, cabinetry and appliances were being installed, as were lighting fixtures, oven hoods and kitchen backslashes. Visum/Modern Living Rentals seems to strongly prefer neutral shades for interior colors, which is generally advisable when selling or renting a home. The appliances hanging up on the wall behind the kitchen counters are the air-source heat pumps.  The units closest to Forest Home Drive were still in the midst of drywall paint prep – there was a worker walking around on professional drywall stilts, which I did not take photos of because I wasn’t sure if they would see me and force me to go off-site. The drywall had been hung and appeared to be mudded, but not painted.

To quote the online ad:

These beautiful townhouses are a great place to call home!!
Brand new construction in late 2016 [sic?], has all the amenities needed! Brand new EVERYTHING, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, kitchen complete with a dishwasher! Great sized rooms with ample closet space, all custom tiles bathroom as well! Washer and dryer IN unit!

902 Dryden is not big or ostentatious. I wouldn’t call it out of place in rural Varna, and another 8 units and 26 bedrooms are welcome to the local rental market. Modern Living Rentals and Visum Development are bringing a pretty solid addition to the Varna market. Consider this a preview of MLR’s next project, the 42-unit rental complex they want to put in just a mile up the road at 802 Dryden.

Bella Faccia Construction is the general contractor, and STREAM Collaborative is the architect.


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