323 Taughannock Boulevard Construction Update, 12/2018

3 12 2018

Some projects have clear, concise histories. This is not one of them.

323 Taughannock started off in the summer of 2014 as a $3.5 million, 23,000 SF mixed-use building with ground-level office, 18 covered parking spaces, and 20 apartment units on the three stories above (total of four stories, 50′ height). The firm proposing the building was Rampart Real LLC, managed by local lawyer Steve Flash, who partnered with businesswoman Anne Chernish to develop the plan.

Flash had long had an interest in Inlet Island. He was an original co-owner of the Boatyard Grill restaurant on the island, and is an owner and co-manager of the nearby Finger Lakes Boating Center. In 2007, he sought to build a five-story condo/hotel on Inlet Island, and was shot down. If you think Ithacans are opposed to development now, take a look at the previous link. Current affairs don’t hold a candle to how anti-development the community and many local elected officials were for much of the 2000s. But Flash continue to scout out opportunities where he might be able to do something in time. He picked up the vacant, rundown former bar at 323 Taughannock Boulevard for $280,000 in July 2011.

The apartment plans, which were designed by STREAM Collaborative, were reviewed, revised, and approved by the city. Although the original plan was to build the apartments out from January – August 2015, the project had been unable to move off of the drawing board and into reality due to cost concerns related to “parking, soft soil, and relatively tight space,” according to Flash. Being on the waterfront means that the soils have a high water table and are easily compressed, making multi-story construction difficult. The challenges faced with the apartment building were complicated by the proposed first-floor parking, which posed constraints on the building’s structuring, and raised construction costs beyond feasibility. Long story short, although the approvals were in place, the cost projections became too steep for the developers to follow through, and the site sat quiet.

With the original plan no longer feasible, a replacement development plan was submitted in December 2016. This was a proposal for eight for-sale townhouses. Totaling 20,174 SF it’s effectively 16 units in eight townhomes – the first floor will consist of 8 studio type apartments that could also be used as commercial space. The second and third floors, which have separate entrances, will be occupied by 8 townhome style 2-story units. The original idea was that they could be live/work spaces, or that renters would live in the studio units and their rents would help cover the mortgages of the townhouse owners. Offhand, I remember they were to be in the upper 300s to low 400s price range.

The general aesthetics of the design remained the same – as with the apartments, the for-sale townhouses are being designed by local architecture firm STREAM Collaborative. The facade “features historic and contemporary elements of rustic bricks, steel, traditional clapboard siding, and window casings”, per STREAM’s website. Five of the townhomes are larger – 645 SF studios with 2 bed/2 bath 1,608 SF units above, for a total of 2,253 SF in the “Unit A” townhouses. “Unit B”, with three examples, is a little smaller, with 514 SF studios and 2 bed/2 bath 1,384 SF upper-level units, for a total of 1,898 SF (the IDA application shows slightly different square footages for each unit, probably due to design revisions). Four units will have private elevators. The property will be landscaped and include eight on-site parking spaces with access to nine more next door. The public will have access to the waterfront on a paved promenade.

During this second round of review, 323 Taughannock received some visual tweaks. Gone are the cute sprial staircases leading to the waterfront, and in their place are more standard treatments. The group of five had their balconies moved from the second floor to the third floor. The changes on the front are more subtle, with the window fenestration now centered on each unit, and the front doors rearranged (old version here). Overall, the design was still roughly the same, the changes were only in the details.

The second set of reviews did get drawn out a bit because the project was caught up in the city’s TM-PUD affair, their fight to keep the Maguires from moving forward with their dealership at Carpenter Business Park. But the design fit zoning and was in line with the city’s desire for a more active, denser waterfront. The project was approved in May 2017.

Six months later in November, Flash and Chernish sold a $203,000 stake in 323 Taughannock plan to Arnot Realty of Elmira, who own the Arnot Mall and some commercial and multi-family properties in the Elmira/Horseheads area. As 323T LLC, the new joint venture gave Arnot a 75% stake to Flash and Chernish’s 25%, meaning Arnot is now the primary developer. For Flash and Chernish, it gives them a much bigger partner with experience and connections to contractors; for Arnot, it gives them a toehold in the burgeoning Ithaca market, their first step into the city.

One of the decisions made in this change of ownership was that the units went back to being rentals – very expensive rentals, to the tune of $3,400-3,500/month for the upper-level units. By HUD guidelines, that’s affordable to someone making $140,000/year. The studios will go for $1,400-$1,500/month. Seeking a ten-year tax abatement, sales tax exemptions and mortgage tax exemptions proved to be the most controversial part of this project, and to be fair, it’s a tough sell from a public relations perspective to say your ultra-luxury units deserve a $605,855 tax abatement. But the IDA decided that the long-term property tax increase would be worth it, and the project could potential spur development elsewhere on the island and the West End, and granted the exemptions in January 2018. One of the people who raked the developers and the IDA over the coals was Amanda Kirchgessner, back when she was a well-meaning citizen and before she became a highly controversial state senatorial candidate.

Tompkins Trust Company has lent the development team $4.061 million to finance work on the 16-unit townhouse project on Inlet Island. 323 T LLC partner equity was expected to be $1.153 million at the time of the IDA application, but that may have changed, since the bank loan was only expected to be $3.461 million at the time – total project cost was $4.615 million.

Ithaca’s Taitem Engineering is in charge of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural design services. The builder looks like a newcomer – Benson Woodworking Company, working with applicant contractor D Squared Inc. (Doug Boles and Doug Dake) of Lansing. Benson’s primary work is as a modular and timber-frame builder for properties in and around southern New Hampshire where they’re based. With 323, the wood-frame wall system will actually be framed and sheathed off site by Benson, and transported over to be assembled by D Squared like pieces of a puzzle. The modular approach potentially saves on materials and labor costs makes the construction itself more energy efficient, and may make the logistics of the construction site easier to manage. The plan is to have the project be “nearly net-zero”, meaning it’s efficient in its energy use, and close to having all of its energy needs met by renewable sources (the project will be powered by an off-site solar array). For the record, yes it will use heat pumps.

Taitem also designed the rather unusual timber-based pile system deployed at the project site. The project itself is relatively light as building go, but because of the waterlogged soils, a deep foundation is still required for structural stability. Instead of heavy-duty steel, treated timber can do the job for a fairly modestly sized project like this, an affordable, lighter-load alternative. As long as the timber isn’t exposed to high levels of oxygen (open air, there isn’t enough dissolved in groundwater), they can last for hundreds of years. You can see the piles in the photos below, and watch the pile driving process in the embedded Twitter video courtesy of Ithaca second ward councilman Ducson Nguyen. All the piles are in place, and a 6″ concrete slab will be formed and poured over the top.

Construction is expected to take about eight months, roughly placing a timeline for completion at summer 2019.

Before:

 

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

 


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), general housing, ithaca, photos

South Meadow Square Construction Update, 11/2018

25 11 2018

From the outside, these are practically completed, except for some decorative elements. Some exterior lighting mounts are missing from the smaller north endcap, and the south endcap is substantially complete – except for the part where it appears a large truck tried to navigate the tight turn around the building and took out part of the stone veneer, exposing the scratch coat and lath (backing material for the plaster scratch coat). The variety of materials – brick veneer, stone veneer, EIFS and metal flashing/windows attempts to create some visual interest and unique identities among the storefront spaces.

Note that in commercial retail, it’s pretty common to build the exterior (shell) and basic interior structural components (core), but leave the interior unfinished. A tenant interested in the space will fit-out the space to their needs, finishing out and furnishing the interior as they see fit. The costs of fit-out vary depending on the terms negotiated by the landlord (in this case, Benderson Development) and the tenant.

Interestingly, the north endcap, with 7,315 SF of rentable space, has two entrances, but the interior doesn’t show a non-structural split between units, so it’s not clear if it just has two entrances or if it will be two separate retail fronts. Spectrum has confirmed it will be a tenant when the building is fitted out. Spectrum, the cable and internet provider currently located at 519 West State Street, was previously Time Warner Cable until the firm was bought by Charter Communications in 2016. Spectrum and its predecessor are very controversial companies, both for local reasons and for macro-scale reasons (horrendous reputations for poor service, often ranking among the most hated companies in the country). Locally, Spectrum has engendered significant controversy by replacing WSKG, the Binghamton-based PBS affiliate, with WCNY, the Syracuse-based PBS affiliate, for its Tompkins and Cortland County customers. This would be fine, if WCNY had much Ithaca-Cortland coverage, or was interested in providing it, and as a result the local TV news and media coverage has been greatly reduced. For-profit WENY of Elmira had been dropped by Time Warner a couple years earlier, as Ithaca/Tompkins has been increasingly tied into the Syracuse broadcast market.

This drop in coverage led to significant pushback from community groups and local elected officials, and with some negotiating, they were successful in bringing a TV news affiliate back to Ithaca. WENY’s “New York Local Ithaca” opened its doors at 112 West State Street a couple of weeks ago, and is carried on Spectrum’s Channel 11. Most of the broadcast is Elmira rehash with local weather, but Tompkins-centered programs are in the works, including partnerships with Ithaca College and Cornell to provide formal news coverage (how this affect ICTV is unclear).

The north end cap, which clocks in at 14,744 SF, is still available. The 3,200 SF endcap space on the smaller retail strip next to Firehouse Subs has yet to begin construction.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos

TC3 Arthur Kuckes Childcare Center Construction Update, 11/2018

24 11 2018

Normally I’m a little more on top of construction starts, but Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TC3) is somewhat isolated, so I rarely check it out. This time it paid off.

Over at TC3, the footers are in, the foundation slab has been poured and the steel frame is being assembled for what will be the newest addition to the college’s campus, a $6.5 million, 9,875 SF daycare and early education facility. The construction costs are about $4.5 million, covered in part by $2.5 million in state grants and a $2 million donation from Arthur Kuckes, the founder of local firm Vector Magnetics, and a longtime supporter of the college. The funding goal was 50% state sources, and 50% private donors. The remainder of the funds will be used to pay for equipment purchases to outfit the facility, and to set up an operating endowment. The previously vacant project site was selected for its easy vehicular access and picturesque views.

The purpose of the building is multi-pronged. For one, it provides a much-needed daycare option for students with infants and young children, giving parents more flexibility to take classes while their kids are in a safe, stimulating environment nearby (it’s also open to the children of faculty and staff). A 2014 feasibility study commissioned by the college found that about 5,400 children in Tompkins and Cortland Counties are in need of third-party childcare, and that existing providers, ranging from formal childcare facilities to babysitters, serve about 3,000 children in the study area, meaning a 45% deficiency and by extension, a lack of affordable childcare options. The existing on-site daycare can care for 33 children, and does not have the capacity for infants. The new facility is expected to serve up to eighty children in two infant rooms and six early childhood classrooms, and create a dozen jobs. The college expects about 90% of the enrollees will be the children of students, with a small number of faculty and staff children. If there are still openings (few if any are expected outside the TC3 community), members of the greater Tompkins-Cortland community may apply.

Secondly, it gives students in the Early Childhood education program a greater chance to develop hands-on experience. The Early Childhood program also expects to increase its number of on-site student interns from 14 in the current campus daycare, to 45-50 students over the course of a typical year.

The project was first publicly announced in February 2016, with a somewhat grander design that was toned down (value engineered) in an effort to stay withing budget and start construction sooner rather than later. The fundraising campaign launched in June of that year, and the project went out for construction bids in February 2018. The project expenses still increased somewhat in the few years from conception to execution, growing from about $5.5 million to $6.5 million. The groundbreaking in May suggested an opening by the end of 2018, but Stormwater Pollution Protection Plan (SWPPP) stated August 2019.

According to the construction documents (all 702 pages of them), local architect Claudia Brenner designed the new facility, with Lansing’s Dende Engineering on board as a structural engineering consultant, T.G. Miller for surveying and civil engineering work, Jade Stone Engineering PLLC of Watertown for mechanical, electrical and plumbing design and engineering, Ithaca’s TWMLA for landscape architecture and Albany’s Ran Fire Protection Engineering for the sprinklers and other fire suppression systems.

The foundation is a standard concrete slab-on-grade shallow foundation, and given the immense need for fire protection for a facility like this, the frame will be fireproofed steels, with extensive fire suppression systems (fire-rated doors, sprinkler system), and fire-rated gypsum board sheathing. Finishes will include masonry, fiber cement, and metal exterior panels, and asphalt and metal roof materials. Windows will be typical commercial-grade aluminum frame, and the trim will include wood and metal flashing. Note that the exterior play areas will include not one, not two, but three play areas, for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers respectively. In the photos brlow, the foundation appears to be finished, with some rebar and orange rebar safety caps still on-site. The steel skeleton is still being assembled, with some roof trusses and corrugated steel decking sitting near the structure, ready to be hoisted into place.

Site plan, as seen in the geotechnical report.

Interior render.

Current design, front entrance.

Older design, rear wings with the pre-school and toddler playgrounds.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : academic buildings, construction, construction (planned), photos, Tompkins County

802 Dryden Road Construction Update, 11/2018

21 11 2018

802 Dryden Road, also called “Ivy Ridge”, was originally the product of local developer Charlie O’Connor, CEO of Modern Living Rentals. However, just as site preparation and underground utility installations were getting underway late last summer, the project changed hands. On September 12th, the site and construction plans were sold for $2.075 million. Filed on the same day was a construction loan from M&T Bank to pay for construction of the project – a rather substantial $8.6 million for the 42-unit, 108-bedroom townhouse complex. The buyer’s LLC was linked to a suburban Pittsburgh address for Matthew Durbin, and a little online searching indicates Durbin is a Cornell Johnson School (MBA) Alumnus, a former investment banker turned business executive. In short, an outside investor but with a demonstrated familiarity with the Ithaca area, business acumen and the money to make things happen. The sale does not appear to have altered the plans (any revisions would need to be approved by the town of Dryden) or the timeline.

Framing has started on one of the townhouse strings (each string is seven units apiece) and foundation work has started on a second. The plan is to have the units ready for occupancy in time for the Fall 2019 academic semester – being right next to the Cornell Arboretum, it’s a literal stone’s throw from the edge of Cornell campus, and is intended to appeal to graduate or professional students (especially students of the veterinary school, whose location on the eastern edge of Cornell campus has left them with few walkable options). STREAM Collaborative designed the units, Taitem Engineering is on board as a structural engineer, and Granger Construction of East Syracuse is the general contractor.

A full description of the project and its history can be found here.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), general housing, student housing, Tompkins County

East Pointe Apartments Construction Update, 11/2018

21 11 2018

The design of the townhouse strings underwent some pretty substantial changes. This was what was originally proposed and approved, on Park Grove Realty’s website:

And this is what’s being built, according to the apartments.com listing:

The new render was posted online Monday at 10:30 AM according to the image properties, so this is quite literally “hot off the press”. It would appear that active marketing for the apartment began on several real estate websites (Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com) this week.

Same architect, but very different designs. The number of units remains the same per string (ten each), but it’s not clear if the unit counts by bedroom has been modified. According to the rental advertisements, the prices will be in the upper/premium side of the market, though not as high as some of the luxury units in Ithaca: one-bedrooms will be $1,695-$1,795/month, two-bedrooms $1,875-$1,975/month, and three-bedrooms $2,345/month. Units come with fiber optic internet connections, cable TV, USB ports in outlets, vinyl plank flooring, 42 inch cabinets, fitness room and lounge access, pool/clubhouse, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, washer/dryer, ample parking and smaller dogs and cats (for a $299 initial fee plus another $35/month).

DGA Builders has continued building these out at a very quick pace. It appears that at least three of the ten-unit apartment buildings have been fully framed, a fourth is starting framework, and at least a few more have foundation work or site grading underway. The loop road (named “East Pointe Drive”) is partially complete, and the underground utilities (sewer, water) appear to be in place. Given the units that have been built, it looks like the only significant distinguishing factor between strings will be the secondary vinyl siding color – noting the Spruce Green in the render and Pacific Blue in the most complete townhouse string. Most likely, this is Saint-Gobain Certainteed vinyl siding. The first units in the 140-unit townhouse complex are expected to hit the rental market this April.

A full description of the project and its history can be found here.

Interior renders:


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), general, photos, Tompkins County

Village Solars Construction Update, 11/2018

21 11 2018

The Village Solars complex is a development project that never truly stops. Lifestyle Properties (the Lucente family) only builds two or three new apartment buildings each year, but after four years of construction, it has resulted in quite a large development. A visit to the site shows the next buildings are just getting underway – based off the latest site plan, it appears to be Building “L” and Building “K”, which is a little out-of-order in that these two were supposed to built in 2020-2021, after another phase that so far remains unbuilt. Building L’s foundation has been formed and poured, with all the utilities poking out of the concrete, to be routed into the framing as the building goes up; Building “K” looks like it’s still in the excavation stage. The crushed stone helps with drainage, site leveling and preventing cracks in the concrete due to settling. That water will be pumped out before the footers are poured.

Each of the two buildings, which have slightly different designs, is designed to host 24 units – 3 three-bedroom, 6 two-bedroom, 3 one-bedroom, and 12 of the one-bedroom “micro-units”, which are 400-500 square feet. Expect a mid-2019 opening for the pair. Next year’s phase likely involves one more apartment building in Phase “4”, as well as the construction on their mixed-use community center building (Building “F”), which will go in that empty space in the last photo. The town of Lansing’s Village Solars amended PDA law (#6 of 2016, to be technical) says the developers are only allowed one more building to be built before the community center must be constructed, and that the center must be built by the end of 2020.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), general housing, photos, Tompkins County

Cayuga Medical Associates Construction Update, 11/2018

14 11 2018

Okay, let’s be frank. Given the original plan to open to open this project in Summer 2018, the new Cayuga Medical Associates building is running well behind schedule. It’ll be a substantial effort to have it ready for occupancy by the start of 2019, and given all that still needs to be done, early spring may be more likely for the 28,200 SF medical office building.

Most of the smaller windows are in place, but the storefront-style windows, with expansive panes of clear and translucent glass, have yet to be installed. None of the doors appear to have been installed yet either. Some of the aluminum coping has been attached to the edges of the roof, and most but not all of the standing seam metal roof is in place. The entrance canopy is also on the to-do list. Note that the blue waterproofing around the window openings will be covered over with the same dark grey aluminum coping used on the roof, while those waterproofed areas within the rough window openings will be faced with spandrel glass.

The off-white face brick does seem to make the building appear less imposing. Its size was one of the major concerns when going through the Cayuga Heights planning board. It’s hard to say how the interior is coming along, but I’d guess most utilities rough-ins are either complete or in progress (and many of the rough openings are sheathed in plastic to limit the chill and disruption of November’s winds). Most of the curbing and some of the new parking lot paving has been finished, but no plantings are in place yet, and at this late, cold point inthe season, the development team may just wait until early spring to fill out the landscaping.

Reminds me of my brother’s cars. Don’t drive like my brother.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), photos, Tompkins County

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.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, senior housing

119-125 College Avenue (College Townhouses) Construction Update, 9/2018

16 10 2018

A little late in coming, but better than nothing at all.

119-125 College Avenue is developer John Novarr’s attempt to add something to Collegetown that’s not explicitly student housing. The plan is housing for Cornell faculty and staff, ideally visiting faculty who are in need of housing close to the university.

Most developers would probably have played their cards a little more conservatively in Ithaca’s most student-focused and most expensive neighborhood, but Novarr and his partners, doing business as the Novarr-Mackesey Development Company, have assets worth in the few hundreds of millions, so they can afford to be a little adventurous. Among Novarr’s local holdings are 1001 West Seneca Street (the Signworks Building), the Casa Roma Apartments, the Breazzano Center (on a fifty-year lease to Cornell), 312 College Avenue and the crown jewel of his holdings, Collegetown Terrace. he’s entering his mid 70s, but has no intent on slowing down; with the Breazzano wrapped up, work has commenced on 238 Linden Avenue and 119-125 College Avenue.

The first official word of this project was leaked, in a way. It was listed in July 2016 as a potential project to be sponsored for a Restore NY state grant. At the time, only a site outline was available, the plan was estimated to cost about $10 million, and the project was looking at an October 2016 site plan application with a Spring 2018 completion.

It was very early in the timeline; in fact, the sale of the existing three apartment houses hadn’t even closed yet. The three boarding houses dated from the late 19th century. A historical analysis by Bero Architecture stated that the white Queen Anne-style house at 119 College Avenue was built as a boarding house in the early 1890s, the white Italianate-style house at 121 College Avenue was built as a personal residence in the early 1870s, and the stucco-coated house at 125 College Avenue was constructed as a personal residence in the 1870s. The three properties fell under the same ownership in the 1960s, and had been owned by the Hills family for over forty years before their sale to a Novarr-associated LLC in July 2016. According to the deed filed with Tompkins County, the sale price was $4.75 million, far more than their combined tax assessment of $1.655 million.

The project has since its inception met the requirement of the zoning for the site – the three continent properties are CR-4, which allows up to 50% lot coverage, 25% green space, up to 4 floors and 45 feet in height, a choice of pitched or flat roofs, and requires front porches, stoops or recessed entries. This is the lowest-density zone for which no parking is required. The city describes the zoning as “an essential bridge” between higher and lower density, geared towards townhouses, small apartment buildings and apartment houses.

The original plan, first presented in October 2016, consisted of three buildings –the two buildings at the front of the parcel were designed to emulate rowhouses, and a third building located in the rear of the property would have contained garden apartments. The two rowhouse buildings and rear apartment structure would have been separated by an internal courtyard, and terraced modestly to account for the site’s slope. Counting basement space, the built space would have come in at 49,278 square feet. The 67 units were a combination of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The project was called the “College Townhouse” or “College Townhouses”, but strictly speaking, these weren’t townhouses, the buildings only resembled townhouses by having multiple entries and stoops. The design incorporated a modern motif with glass expanses and a few different shades of colored metal and fiber cement panels.

The proposal made it through planning board review with only minor changes – for example, to give a little more visual interest, the squared-off bay windows were replaced with curving glass. The approvals process was fairly straight-forward, with site plan approval granted in January 2017.

This is where things go off the beaten path. The site had already been cleared (Novarr often seeks to clear sites before he has approvals, something that has caused consternation before), and then…it remained quiet. A vacant patch with only a temporary fence and only patchy meadow grass. This was not going to plan.

The issue turned out to be the result of revisions to the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code. The revisions, passed in November 2016, prevented construction of buildings taller than 30 feet in the presence of above-ground power lines. It just so happens that above-ground power lines pass in front of the site. The code also made the rear garden apartment building illegal because it couldn’t be reached from the street by aerial apparatus. City staff weren’t aware the code changed until after site plan approvals were granted, someone dropped the ball on communicating the changes. The College Townhouses project no longer met code because the code had changed, and so the project team had to seek a variance from the state in November 2017, under the advisement that the power lines on College Avenue were likely to be buried in the next couple of years anyway. The argument win the state over, so it was back to the drawing board.

The revised design, showcased in February 2018, removed the rear building, and reshaped the front buildings to be narrower and deeper, separated by a large courtyard that a fire truck can navigate. Access to the courtyard comes via a mountable curb. If the day comes that the power lines are buried (in 2020 or so), the plan is to turn the courtyard into landscaped green space. The decorative entry shown in the above rendering would be built after the power lines are buried. While the footprint was greatly altered, the plan kept the same design motif as before (the new design added stainless steel and zinc panels on the walls facing the courtyard, not unlike the similarly-designed 238 Linden project), and still includes 67 housing units (90 new residents, assuming one per bedroom). Revised approvals were granted at the end of February.

Just a little clarification edit here: the power lines were one issue, and the rear building was a second issue. Both had the potential to interfere with a fire truck’s ladder or lift, and with the result of changes in the code, not only did the rear building became illegal, the buildings were now also too tall for a block with above-ground power lines, 45 ft vs the 30 ft allowed. So the design team consolidated the three buildings into two structures, separated by a large courtyard that can be entered and exited by a fire truck – the truck can just pass under the lines now to reach the back of the property.

It has taken some time to finally get underway, but it looks like ground was broken around late August. Excavation was well underway by late September, with shoring walls in place (steel H-beams with wood lagging in between) to hold the adjacent soil in place.

Local landscape design firm Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architecture guided the apartment project through the review process, but the designer of the buildings is Princeton-based ikon.5 Architects, the same firm that designed Collegetown Terrace. Welliver is the general contractor for the project, which given the 12-14 month timeline of earlier reports, is likely looking at an August 2019 completion.


Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : collegetown, construction, construction (planned), Cornell, general housing, ithaca, photos

118 College Avenue Construction Update, 9/2018

10 10 2018

The last of Visum‘s projects from the September photos batch is the 5-unit, 28-bedroom 118 College Avenue in Collegetown. The student-focused apartment building is topped out, fully framed, and sheathed. The mechanical penthouse, which STREAM Collaborative designed to emulate an Italianate cupola, appears to be framed but not closed in. The windows and doors have been fitted, and the balconies are partially complete. Some of the face brick can be seen on the first floor, and like the other Visum projects, the wood rails nailed over the ZIP panels will be used for attachment of the fiber cement siding. The original plans has a small top floor setback on the north face, and the projecting bays at the front (east face) were originally bumped out slightly from the side walls, but both of those features were value engineered out. At a glance, not much has changed on the outside since final approval was granted, a good sign that the project has stayed within budget – bravo to STREAM, Romig Construction and Taitem Engineering for helping Visum bring this project to fruition.

As with other inner Collegetown projects, rent will be fairly steep – $1,200 – $1,300 per bedroom per month. Visum’s property management page, Live More Ithaca, has an August 2019 availability, but I suspect this building will be finished in time for the spring semester, given how far along it is. Maybe there are renters already secured for a shorter lease period – it’s hard to imagine the building would be left newly finished but vacant for that long.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : collegetown, construction, construction (planned), ithaca, photos, student housing

« Previous Entries Next Entries »