It appears that TFC’s new headquarters is just about done – from the outside, paving, landscaping and signage is about all that’s left. The signage plan, a fairly conservative “halo” style courtesy of Ithaca Sign Works, can be seen on the city’s website here.
As these photos were taken, a moving crew was busy carting office materials from TFC’s office space across the street. Corporation staff should be moved into the new building by the end of May. Tompkins Trust Company Division CEO Greg Hartz has said that 119 and 121 East Seneca would be held onto and rented out, with the bank retaking space in those buildings as it needs. Meanwhile, the historic 2 and 3-story buildings on Bank Alley just south of the M&T Building have been sold to the county for use as the new Tompkins Center for History and Culture, which will open in 2019.
On the whole, a project like this is a big net positive for the city. As opposed to the tried-and-true suburban office park route, TFC’s commitment to the city, and the work of city personnel as well as TCAD to keep them in downtown results in a major addition to the city’s tax base ($3,782,311 in new tax revenue over 10 years), the retaining of hundreds of workers downtown who by proximity would be more likely to shop, dine or live nearby, and the prospect of dozens of well-paying jobs being created at the new headquarters over the next several years. It looks like that the company added 22 employees system-wide in 2017, for a total of 1,041. A little over 300 of those will work in the new headquarters, the vast majority moving from the other offices in downtown Ithaca, with another 18 or so from the Lansing office.
Design-wise, it has a solid if conservative appearance, befitting of a stable, button-up corporation. HOLT Architects added a modern touch with the windows, and created visual interest by contrasting the dark grey brick with the tan brick, beige face stone and grey aluminum panels. The building height and dimension occupy an intermediate size between the DeWitt Mall and Seneca Place, which allows it to be imposing without being overbearing.
Other firms involved in the bringing this project from vision to reality include the engineers and surveyors at Elwyn & Palmer, Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects, and Rochester’s LeChase Construction. Credit also goes to JPW Erectors for the steel framework, the Carpenters’ Union Local 277 and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 241.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
