105 dearborn place | Ithacating in Cornell Heights

105 Dearborn Place Construction Update, 8/2019

7 08 2019

The 12-bedroom, 16-person luxury senior home under construction at 105 Dearborn Place is substantially complete. The stone veneer is being attached to the base, and Schickel Construction is building up the porte cochere, with decks and patios soon to follow. Landscaping and paving will come at the end of construction. Also, note the heat pump on the exterior in the lower right of the third photo. The exterior finishes appear to be durable, detailed and of high quality, befitting for a high-end independent living facility. According to developer, Bridges Cornell owner Elizabeth Classen Ambrose, the new building will have a “grand opening” event later this year. Some lavish renders from the project website follow at the end of the post (I have no idea what the small structure is next to the house – a playhouse for visiting children?). Quick aside, while this blog refers to the project by its street address, Bridges staff prefer it be called “The Craftsman”.

An interesting side note, Classen Ambrose picked up the relative new (2005) single-family home at 116 Dearborn Place for $900,000 on June 6th. However, no redevelopment is planned. Apparently, some fraternities had been looking at the property, and to prevent some raucous neighbors from moving next door, she bought the property and intends to rent it out as she sees fit. It’s not uncommon to hear in the Voice comments, “if you don’t want [xyz] happening next door, buy it,” and in Classen Ambrose’s case, she did. Classen Ambrose has also joined the City Harbor development team as a project investor, and by the time this piece runs, there will be a related piece of news on the Voice’s website.

More background info about the project can be found here and here.

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Tags: 105 dearborn place, bridges cornell heights, elizabeth classen ambrose, infill, senior housing
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, senior housing

105 Dearborn Place Construction Update, 5/2019

24 05 2019

We’ll change up the format a bit for this post. Below is a recent email from Ithaca resident Joan Jacobs Brumberg:

I had an opportunity to talk yesterday with Elizabeth Classen Ambrose who is the organizational power behind a growing Bridges community. I wanted to find out more about Library Place interiors but we ended up spending a fascinating hour talking about The Craftsman, a new kind of Ithaca residence for the elderly resembling the group homes in Holland and Denmark.

Four things about this project — to be completed in November 2019– strike me as important for the public to know:
1. This is a new form of independent living for 16 older folks who do not want home or apartment to care for. Each individual room is lovely with private bath and fireplace, small refrigerator. I believe you bring your own furnishings, ie., the things you care about most.
2. No upfront payment and no lease.
3. Residents have access to special Car Share vehicles and also Bridges shuttle service if they do not drive.
4. Many amenities for the elderly: warming pool, gym, a trainer, maybe podiatrist and physical therapy. And a special add on: garden space.

I told some people my age about this facility and everyone asked “How did you learn about it?” Even if they are candidates for Library Place, my friends have older parents, relatives, and friends who are burdened with private homes or apartments that are increasingly hard to care for.

***

It came as part of an article pitch for the Voice, but since I did an article about Bridges for the Voice two years ago, I declined. The website for the new house is online, with plenty of rather sumptuous interior renders (a few embeds are below many more are on the website). The twelve bedrooms (eight single-occupancy, four double-occupancy for couples) will feature heated floors, fireplaces in some units, large-screen televisions, optional dry bar with refrigerator and hot beverage maker, and private deck or patio areas. Other planned features include an on-site fitness center, storage room, car share, spa and salon services, on-site concierge, and lush landscaping befitting a high-end independent living facility. Residents are expected to be able to go about their daily activities with little to no assistance, but cooking, cleaning and laundry are taken care of by staff. Pending “interviews” by staff for compatibility, residents may even be allowed to have their pets join them.

Schickel Construction has the house largely finished from the outside. Painting of the cedar shingles continues, and architectural detailing/trim (balconies, porch columns) is ongoing. The stone veneer has yet to be attached to the built-out cinder block basement level, but all of the windows and most of the doors have been fitted. No photos of the back side, because there was a kitchen staffer on break who was clearly uncomfortable with this shutterbug.

More background info about the project can be found here.

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Tags: 105 dearborn place, bridges cornell heights, construction, construction (planned), cornell heights, photos, schickel construction, senior housing
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, senior housing

105 Dearborn Place Construction Update, 11/2018

12 11 2018

Framing continues on the future 105 Dearborn Place. Being a large Craftsman-style structure, and because rough openings are sometimes covered by housewrap until it’s trimmed and stapled, it can be a bit tricky to see how the built product compares to renders – best advice is to wait until framing is complete to see if there are any design changes. Many contractors have made the switch over to ZIP Panels for sheathing, but it looks like Schickel Construction is using traditional wood sheathing with Tyvek housewrap – each has its pros and cons, so it boils down to what the builder is comfortable with given the needs and budget for a project. Housewrap would arguably offer more flexibility, but it may be a slower process overall, leaving it susceptible to wind damage if not completely fastened.

Most of the structure is wood-framed, but the basement level uses concrete masonry walls, as does the fireproof stairwell. If this were a skilled-care facility (for example, a nursing home), state code would require the whole building would need to be built of fireproof materials like gypsum. But since this is independent living, the presumption is that residents are coherent and mobile, able to recognize danger and escape to safety in the event of a fire emergency. The masonry base will be faced with a cultured stone veneer, and the upper levels will be covered with cedar shakes after the building is fully framed and wrapped. Background info and further details on the 12-bedroom/16-bed senior living facility can be found here.

As a bonus to this post, a few photos of 109 Dearborn are included at the end. The new dormers are in and the siding is going on – cedar shakes not unlike those to be used on 105 Dearborn. It looks like the original masonry walls are being sheathed in foam insulation board. Historical note here, 109 Dearborn was a former accessory apartment and storage space being converted into a two-family home, and only the apartment portion may have been insulated. It’s a shame the new ground-floor bump-out was dropped, the first floor seems a little drab when compared to the second floor.

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Tags: 105 dearborn place, bridges cornell heights, construction, construction (planned), cornell heights, infill, photos, senior housing
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, senior housing

105 Dearborn Place Construction Update, 8/2018

4 08 2018

It’s no secret that people are living longer. In 2014, residents of Tompkins County could expect to live to 81.21 years, an increase of about 7% from 75.92 years in 1980. It’s also no secret that the population in general is getting older – the Cornell Population and Demographics unit estimates that Tompkins County’s population over the age of 65 has gone from 9,301 in 2000, to 14,454 in 2017, an increase of 55.4%.

From a business perspective, this creates opportunities for various forms of senior housing, housing designed to allow matured individuals to age in place. However, there are cases where specialized, skilled care may become a necessity. This can include specialty facilities like Brookdale (memory care), nursing homes like Beechtree and Cayuga Ridge, and premium personalized care options like Kendal and Bridges Cornell Heights.

Founded in 2001, Bridges Cornell Heights occupies three expansive homes in the historic Cornell Heights neighborhood north of Cornell campus – one was built new in 2005, and the other two are renovations, the last being just a few years ago on Kelvin Place. Each house has sixteen residents or less, and to be frank they could be described as a luxury retirement homes – a high degree of personalized care and a commensurate price tag.

With full occupancy and a waiting list in hand, Bridges has decided to move forward with plans for a fourth house in Cornell Heights, and the second all-new home. The property will be located on the southeast corner of Wyckoff Avenue and Dearborn Place, a small vacant field recently sub-divided from the former Palentological Research Institute next door (which is separately being renovated into a two-family home by Classen Ambrose’s husband). According to the 1928 Cornell Map, the property was once home to the neighborhood school, but the school and its building ceased to be many years ago.

Given that Cornell Heights’ century-old architecture is defined by high-end, visually unique homes, the new property is seeking the same qualifications. Rochester-based Bero Architecture, which specializes in historic design, has been retained and early drawings show an imposing 10,930 SF two-story cultured stone and cedar-shingle Craftsman-style home with 12 bedrooms (four of the bedrooms will be designed for double occupancy for couples). The landscaping will be similarly fitting and designed by Cornell landscape architecture professor Paula Horrigan. Exterior features include a porte cochere, porous driveway and courtyard parking for nine vehicles (all residents, staff are given pre-paid parking off-site at a nearby fraternity and walk over), as well as three patios, walkways and lush plantings (500+ perennials, 127-140 shrubs, and 35 trees).

Since Cornell Heights is a historic district, the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission was required to sign off on any new construction visible from the outside. The design of the house changed very little from start to finish in the approvals process – Bero is good at what they do, and the ILPC was amenable to the design, though some requested tweaks were made to landscaping and parking along the way. They also requested a dated plaque to ensure no one mistakes the new build for an older structure. The project was proposed in May 2017, and approved in October, generally smooth sailing. I can remember when I did the Bridges article for the Voice, Classen Ambrose was very worried about the neighbors reacting negatively. To that credit, some of the full-time neighbors opposed the project, and it’s not often one sees a “senior living operators are converting and destroying the neighborhood” argument. But overall, the opposition was minor. The house is contextual, and the environmental impacts are fairly modest once the mitigation measures (parking off-site, new trees) are considered.

Classen Ambrose has said that the house will programmatically be a little different from the existing trio of homes in that it will be independent living instead of the enhanced assisted living employed at the other homes. That means a lower level of care – residents may receive assistance in housekeeping and cooking, but they are otherwise capable of managing their day-to-day activities. The new facility will also add at least four more staff to Bridges’ payroll, which is in the low/mid 40s and has been seeking living wage certification.

Side note, although it’s been replaced with newer videos, Mack Travis, the founder of Ithaca Rentals and renovations (now Travis Hyde Properties under his son and son-in-law) once did a testimonial in a short video extolling Bridges’ service for his family members. Now years later, Bridges will be providing services to residents of THP’s DeWitt House senior living project.

This is a high-end development where no expense is being spared. Tompkins Trust Company extended a $4.2 million loan, filed with the county on July 20th. Construction is expected to take about a year, with local firm Schickel Construction in charge of the buildout. Alongside with Bero and Horrigan, T. G. Miller P.C. did the civil engineering work for the project.

The project does include a finished basement, and it appears the site has been cleared, excavated, and concrete masonry (cinder block) walls are being assembled at present. Construction will be a traditional wood-frame approach. Note the ZIP panels on the neighbor at 109 Dearborn, as it goes from a dull 1930s office/storage space and becomes a two-family home, also designed by Bero Architects.

Pre-construction (Sep 2017 Google Street View)

August 2018