1001 North Aurora Street | Ithacating in Cornell Heights

1001 North Aurora Street Construction Update, 8/2017

20 08 2017

This small infill project in Ithaca’s Fall Creek is just about done. Tenants have already moved into the four three-bedroom units, and it looks like all that’s left on the outside is grass seeding and a coat of paint. According to the guys working on the duplexes, the mismatch in the second floor LP SmartSide wood siding was because the store they bought them (think they said Home Depot offhand) from had ran out, so they just bought what was available with the intent of painting over it when they were ready. It looks like the first floor has been painted, so that’s a good sign. It is nice to see that, although they were threatened for deletion if expenses came too high, the side windows on the inward-facing walls of the units (east side of 202, west side of 206) were retained.

This is a small, unassuming project. It replaced an older single-family home with four units that fit in with the neighborhood. It’s a bump in density without garnering too much attention. To be candid, it’s probably the only feasible way to add density to Fall Creek – scout out the few vacant lots, or buildings with less historic or aesthetic value, and try to design something that fits in (the only other one I’m aware of is the Heritage Builders infill project on West Falls Street, but at this point it would need re-approval from the planning board).

The three guys out front said that once these are complete, they expect to start work on developer Stavros (Nick) Stavropoulos’ next project at 107 South Albany Street. That site has not changed much over the summer, all that is there at the moment is the fenced-off foundation of the old building. The 11-unit apartment building slated for that site is expected to be completed by summer 2018.

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Tags: 1001 North Aurora Street, 107 south albany street, construction, construction (planned), fall creek, general housing, infill, ithaca, photos
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1001 North Aurora Street Construction Update, 6/2017

19 06 2017

Admittedly, at the moment this pair of two-family homes looks rather bland from Aurora Street, and slapdash from Queen Street. However, it looks like the painting is just starting. The LP SmartSide wood siding will be painted with Sherwin-Williams “Rice Grain” on the first floor and dormer, and the second floor will use S-W “Sawdust”. The swatches of wood shingle on the eastern building have the darker color on both the second floor and dormer, which doesn’t match the city’s filing, but paint typically isn’t the type of detail that will get you in trouble unless it was a stipulation of approval. The short of it is, it’s not clear if anything has changed with the paint scheme, but it might have. The trim boards will be painted S-W “Nacre”.

Another task still on the to-do list is building the porches that both units in the building will share. It’s a T-configuration – residents will step out and down their own step onto a shared landing at the top of the front steps. The porches will have decorative columns and banisters, and access panels below the porch landing. Most of the porch will be built with pressure-treated wood and painted in off-white “Nacre”, there will be dark brown steps (treated wood?), and the access panels will match the siding. About the only thing not wood will be the handrails, which will be steel.

A peek inside shows that the drywall has been hung. The next steps are typically flooring, cabinetry, bathroom fixtures and tiling, interior trim boards (baseboards, crown moulding) and painting. After that will come appliances and the finish work.

The 3-bedroom, 1.5 bath units at 202 and 206 Queen Street should be ready for occupancy later this summer. There were going for $2325/month ($775/bedroom) on Craigslist, and there haven’t been any ads lately, so it’s probably safe to assume all four units have been rented. Stavros (Nick) Stavropoulos is the developer, and Daniel Hirtler is the architect.

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Tags: 1001 North Aurora Street, construction, fall creek, general housing, infill, ithaca, photos
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1001 North Aurora Street Construction Update, 4/2017

21 04 2017

Some more progress on the two-building, four-unit 1001 North Aurora Street project in Fall Creek. Since February, the building have been framed out, roofed and shingled. For the record, the shingles are Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration Shingles, Terra Cotta color. Huber ZIP System plywood sheets are being attached to the exterior over the wood studs, and interior framing, rough-ins and drywall is underway.

On a happy note, it looks like the side windows on the eastern building, which had the potential to be deleted as a cost-saving measure, are indeed going in based on the rough openings. The exterior will consist of two brownish shades of LP SmartSide cedar texture siding, with a white lap band and trim. Technically, that white is Sherwin-Williams “Nacre”, and these plebeian lips had to go to Google to figure out how that’s pronounced (NAY-ker). Because mother-of-pearl is just two darn pedestrian. The browns are “Rice Grain” and “Sawdust”.

Developer Stavros Stavropoulos (d/b/a Renting Ithaca) should be bringing these 3-bedroom rental units onto the market by the end of May, as 202 Queen Street and 206 Queen Street. Shortly thereafter, he and architect Daniel Hirtler which be launching into next project, and their biggest to date – a 3-story, 11-unit apartment building at 107 South Albany Street, just west of downtown.

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Tags: 1001 North Aurora Street, construction, fall creek, general housing, ithaca, photos
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1001 North Aurora Street Construction Update, 2/2017

20 02 2017

Another project making rapid progress in a short time. The two two-family homes at 1001 N. Aurora Street are being framed out. Going over the wood studs are Huber ZIP sheathing plywood panels, like all the cool kids are using in residential wood-frame construction.

There are pros and cons to each approach. DuPont, in sales literature for its Tyvek Housewrap, touts easier installation, more durability during installation, and claims superior waterproofing. The ZIP system, however, has made significant inroads into the construction market because it does an excellent job at allowing moisture to escape while keeping external water from getting in, and although it requires a little more care to work with (taping), it’s still fairly easy to work with. ZIP panels also tend to be more expensive. Liquid water-resistant barrier (WRB) sprays like the ones you see used on commercial buildings and at Cornell tend to provide the best waterproofing, but they are the most expensive option. So if one drew a scale weighing cost and performance, they could have housewraps at the low end of cost and relative performance, ZIP panels in the middle, and WRB sprays at the top.

Anyway, these duplexes will be known as 202 Queen Street and 206 Queen Street. In the signage on the site, the bottom design is what was approved (quick tip – do not use old renders on signage). They replace a single-family home. Stavros Stavropoulos is the developer, and Daniel Hirtler the architect – the two are also behind the plans for the new 11-unit apartment building at 107 South Albany Street.

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Tags: 1001 North Aurora Street, fall creek, general housing, infill, ithaca
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1001 North Aurora Street Construction Update, 1/2017

11 01 2017

This is another one of those modest-sized infill projects where if you blink, you might just miss it.

1001 North Aurora is on the north end of Fall Creek, across the street from the elementary school. The plan replaces an old though not especially historic single-family home with twom two-family homes, each unit with three bedrooms for a total twelve. Four parking spaces are included. The project was approved in October 2016 by the city planning board; the lot subdivision that triggered board review.

Over the course of review, the board requested a little more character in the house designs, including more windows, two different shades of lap siding (which will be LP SmartSide wood siding, painted Sherwin-Williams “Rice Grain” and “Sawdust”), and dormers. The materials also include Owens Corning TruDefinition “Terra Cotta” shingles and S-W “Nacre” trim boards. The initial design looked like this, and the final is shown below. The eastern building will not have the dormer, and may not have the pocket windows in the west wall either, as those were stated to be cost-dependent. The side facing Aurora, however, has to put them in as a stipulation of the approvals; after some recent issues with other projects, the board’s been getting a little more assertive when it comes to building details being built as approved.

The developer is Stavros Stavropoulos. The Stavropoulos family is perhaps best known for running State Street Diner, but recently they’ve been wading deeper into the development pool, building a new two-family home at 514 Linn Street and a two-family addition onto 318-320 Pleasant Street. Tompkins Trust gave a $400,000 construction loan to this project back in August.

Each unit will ring in at about 1200 square feet. Local architect Daniel R. Hirtler, fresh off of another duplex on the corner of Oak Avenue and Oneida Place in Collegetown, is in charge of design. Construction is expected to wrap up by the end of May 2017. According to Craigslist, the units are renting for about $2325 each ($775/bedroom), and two of the four units are already rented. Quote:

“New duplexes featuring 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath apartments. Open floor plans, ductless heating and cooling in every room, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, corian counter tops, stackable washer and dryer, fully furnished, off street parking and much more.”

You’ll notice in the photos below that the completed foundation slab sits a little above the ground – the northern part of Fall Creek has a high water table, so to help avoid water/flooding issues, the buildings are raised slightly. Wood framing is just beginning, so look for these to take shape as we finish out the winter and head into spring.

Quick final detail – 1001 North Aurora Street was the old address. These properties will use addresses on the 200 Block of Queen Street.