602 west state street | Ithacating in Cornell Heights

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 En d. 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:

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: 602 west state street, commercial office buildings, elmira savings bank, HOLT Architects, ithaca, photos, renovations, west end
Categories : ithaca, photos

602 West State Street Construction Update, 3/2017

21 03 2017

The new addition has risen out of the ground at Elmira Savings Bank’s new $1.7 million branch office at 602 West State Street. The cinder block shaft will host the elevator shaft/stairwell, and the steel framing is underway for the new 1600 SF north extension. The non-historic blue paint is being stripped from the bricks of the existing structure, and from the plastic on the roof, it looks like a new roof is being laid, probably EPDM (synthetic rubber) or something similar. The building’s insulation is being updated, and the plan is to have an all-electric HVAC system (heat pumps).

Although the initial press release called for March opening, June or July seems more likely. Elmira Savings Bank will occupy 3,300 SF on the first floor. The second floor, also about 3300 SF, will host for-rent office space. HOLT Architects is in charge of design, and Edger Enterprises is in charge of the buildout. Based off the signage, it looks like John Mills Electric (IBEW Union, Local 241) is doing the subcontracted electrical work.

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: 602 west state street, commercial office buildings, construction, elmira savings bank, ithaca, photos, west end
Categories : construction, ithaca, photos

602 West State Street Construction Update, 1/2017

13 01 2017

With the sidewalk along Meadow St closed off, getting up close to the Elmira Savings Bank project just became much more difficult. From the front, there hasn’t been much exterior work yet – judging from the dumpster, Edger Enterprises has been more focused on gutting the interior of the hundred year-old building. It does look like that, since November, some of the historically inaccurate blue paint has been stripped from the east facade. It doesn’t look like there’s been much progress on the new wing on the north side, the foundation looks about the same at it did two months ago. D unno if they’ll be hitting that March 2017 completion date.

More info about the project can be found here.

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: 602 west state street, commercial office buildings, construction, construction (planned), elmira savings bank, HOLT Architects, ithaca, photos, west end
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, news, photos

602 West State Street Construction Update, 11/2016

29 11 2016

It’s been a busy period for construction starts. Elmira savings Bank has started work on their new branch office at 602 West State on Ithaca’s West End.

The project itself isn’t controversial. But the $1.75 million purchase in December 2015, followed by the very controversial eviction of three low-income families so that their homes could be turned into parking lots…well, that didn’t go over very well, nor should it have. Now with the chance to do some retrospective, it appears that the primary malefactor was the previous property owner, who signed new leases with the tenants but didn’t tell Elmira savings Bank when he sold them the properties. Elmira Savings Bank could have saved themselves many headaches if they had done some due diligence by meeting with the tenants of the properties they were purchasing, but, live and learn, sometimes the hard way.

Plans call for renovating the 5,000 SF building that once housed the Pancho Villa restaurant, a 1,600 SF addition on the north side of the building, and a new drive-thru for bank customers. 16 parking spaces will be included. Edger Enterprises of Elmira will be the general contractor for the $1.7 million project, which is expected to be completed in March 2017. HOLT Architects, headquartered just across the street, is the design firm on record. The primary change during the review process was to limit the house demolitions – the board strongly encouraged ESB to find a partner to develop those lots rather than convert them to parking. At the moment, one of the houses has been torn down to make way for the drive-thru, but the other two will be left as-is and vacant for the time being.

The new addition will incorporate a limestone base, red brick similar to that of the existing structure, Alucobond anodic satin mica colored metal panels above and below the aluminum window curtainwall, and Hickman sandstone-colored metal roof coping. The blue painted brick will be restored to more historically accurate grey-green, and the bricked-in windows will be restored. Bronze-colored metal sunshades will be installed over the windows, and the steel drive-thru canopy will be the same color. The roof will be a white single-ply membrane.

In the construction photos, the new addition has had its foundation excavated and it looks like the concrete is in the process of being formed and poured, with subsurface utility lines poking out in the excavated, yet to be poured portion. The small windowless addition and fire escape on the western wall of the existing structure have been removed as the building advances through renovation – the first and second-floor doors will be replaced with appropriately-sized and historically-accurate windows to match the bricked-in window towards the front.