jason demarest | Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Chapter House / 406 Stewart Avenue Construction Update, 7/2018

15 07 2018

With 400-404 Stewart Avenue complete, developer Jim Goldman is focusing on the completion of the other half of his reconstruction, 406 Stewart Avenue. This is the property that Goldman originally owned and was destroyed in the spread of the fire that erupted at the Chapter House building. Architect Jason K. Demarest’s 3.5 story design is completely framed and sheathed in ZIP Panels; the panels are then covered in HydroGap, a premium grade housewrap to remove excess moisture while keeping new moisture from penetrating into the plywood sheathing. This is then layered over with (what I suspect are fiber cement) shakes, in contrast to the first floor’s lap siding.

My first inclination was that they needed to be painted, but looking at the design render, it appears as if the project team decided to reverse the brown and red siding bands, so now the first floor is red like the original building, but the upper floors are brown. This is not the first major change to the design, which was approved by the ILPC, but any revisions may have been done out of committee view at the staff level. The fenestration on the third floor is different, and the dormer on the gable roof was deleted. Note the partially glazed-in access stair for the third floor apartments, and the quarried bluestone stair columns and base.

There’s still a fair amount of work to do on the exterior with facade installation, trim and finish pieces and the installation of a steel grate to access the enclosed stair column. The one inside shot shows drywall hung with doors and some trim in place, but some pieces are still missing, the wall needs to be painted and the floors have to be finished. However, it’s not an especially large building (four units and eleven bedrooms as-approved), so chances are pretty good this will be ready to go by mid-August.

As for the Chapter House, a few shots through the window glass show the carpeted staircase leading up to the eight apartment units, and an unfinished 3,000 SF commercial space still looking for a tenant.

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 400-404 stewart avenue, 406 stewart avenue, collegetown, construction, jason demarest, mixed-use, photos, reconstruction
Categories : collegetown, construction, ithaca, photos, student housing

Chapter House / 406 Stewart Avenue Construction Update, 4/2018

30 04 2018

It’s hard to believe it’s been over three years now since the fire that decimated the Chapter House and the neighboring apartment house at 406 Stewart Avenue. According to a recent write-up by Mark Anbinder at 14850.com, the new build at 400-404 Stewart Avenue will host one eight units – studio apartment, three 1-bedroom apartments, one 2-bedroom apartment, and three 3-bedroom apartments. The units are aiming for a summer occupancy, and CSP Management (Jerry Dietz and his team) are in charge of the rentals on behalf of developer/owner Jim Goldman.

From the outside, the building is practically complete, except for landscaping/paving, trim pieces, and facade installation of the ground-level bluestone veneer. The 4-unit, 11-bedroom apartment building next door is not as far along, with roof trusses only just being installed, and sheathing (ZIP panels) and window fittings underway on the lower floors. It’s a reasonable bet to say these will be available for their first tenants in time for the start of the new academic year in late August.

As fair as anyone’s aware, the ground-floor space restaurant/bar is still available for lease, at $35/SF (at 3,000 AF, that means $105,000 annually). Chapter House owner John Hoey has said in the comments here that the price is too high for his business. The possibility of a “Chapter II”, as some have dubbed it, seems increasingly remote. Any other potential lessees can contact David Huckle or August Monkemeyer at the Ithaca branch of Pyramid Brokerage.

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 400-404 stewart avenue, 406 stewart avenue, chapter house rebuild, city of ithaca, collegetown, construction, construction (planned), east hill, Elwyn & Palmer, jason demarest, mixed-use, photos, Taitem Engineering
Categories : collegetown, construction, construction (planned), general, ithaca, photos, student housing

400-404 & 406 Stewart Avenue Construction Update, 2/2018

18 02 2018

This pair appears to be coming along quite nicely. 400-404 Stewart Avenue is looking good. GAF asphalt roof shingles are being laid over the Raptor brand underlayment. The trim has been attached, with some of the ornamental board starting to go up aside the brackets. The cornice and bracket trim is to be painted grey and black, as are the gables on the dormers (I guess they do technically count as gable dormers on a mansard roof, even with the pitch as steep as it is). It has a vaguely Georgian colonial feel to it; the design is a heavy nod to the original building design from a century ago.

Most if not all of the Redland Heritage SWB brick is attached, and the overhangs have been framed and sheathed, with some underlayment applied – these will actually be finished with more expensive but historically appropriate (simulated) slate shingles. The transom windows and picture windows of the first floor retail/bar/restaurant space have been fitted, but the trim has yet to be attached. The bluestone veneer at the base is largely complete. The doors have yet to be fitted, as do the heavy brackets and ornate detailing of the first floor exterior.

Advertisements for the upstairs apartments has yet to make an appearance, but there are ads going around for the retail space (3,000 SF, $35/SF).

As for the new 406 Stewart Avenue, the mismatched rough window openings on the front facade appears to have been fixed. The recessed front porch is framed, and if I’m seeing it right, the stonework is already in place at the base. The construction crew is starting to cut out the openings from the Huber ZIP panels on the third floor. It is definitely a different interior layout than they had in mind when the renderings were presenting – there are substantial differences in the fenestration of the building’s north face. The gable roof and dormer has yet to be framed, but if they’re aiming for a Q2 and Q3 opening, they look to be on track from a glance.

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 400-404 stewart avenue, 406 stewart avenue, city of ithaca, collegetown, east hill, Elwyn & Palmer, jason demarest, mixed-use, student housing, Taitem Engineering
Categories : construction, construction (planned), ithaca, news, photos, student housing

Chapter House / 406 Stewart Avenue Construction Update, 6/2017

16 06 2017

The funny thing about this project is, I already did the synopsis back in February 2016, the first time that it seemed to be under construction.

At the time, the construction seemed ready to move forward, but then, well…it didn’t. Former 400-404 Stewart Avenue owner Sebastian Mascaro sold the property and plans over to neighbor Jim Goldman, who intended to carry them forward. However, citing unfavorable cost estimates, Goldman decided to wait, and only recently has the project obtained favorable terms that would allow it to proceed.

The plans are still the same, although the project manager has changed. CSP Management (Jerry Dietz) will still manage the apartment rentals, but the commercial component is under the control of Pyramid Brokerage, Syracuse-based Hayner Hoyt will be the general contractor, and the construction manager representing Goldman is not with Hayner Hoyt and does not appear to be from the Ithaca area.

As a frank aside, it has been a rare degree of frustration to dig up information about this project. Goldman, for whatever reason, is incredibly publicity-averse, and everyone involved with the Chapter House has been asked or told to not talk about it. The little bit of information the Voice and 14850 have been able to get has come from CSP Management, which in itself comes with lots of cautions and uncertain language. The one occasion I spoke with Goldman, he told me he knew nothing and no longer owned the site, which if true, isn’t in the county’s records.

Here’s what is known. 406 Stewart Avenue will be 4 units, 7 bedrooms, replacing a similar-looking 1898 structure destroyed by fire in April 2015. 400-404 Stewart Avenue is about 9,000 SF with first floor retail with two floors of apartments – the number of bedrooms and units is not clear, as the number has been in flux. Note that calling it “the Chapter House project” is inaccurate – John Hoey, who owns the right to the Chapter House name, has not committed to reopening on the site, and the first-floor is being offered at a rather hefty $35/SF. For comparison’s sake, most downtown rates I’ve seen come in at about half that, although Pyramid is playing up its proximity to Cornell and the inner Collegetown market. A potential interior layout for a bar is included in the marketing material.

The current plan is to have 400-404 Stewart open by the end of the year, and 406 Stewart by Summer 2018. Jason K. Demarest is the architect for both buildings.

The first photo below is from my colleague Mike Blaney on May 23rd, as environmental remediation company ERSI was finishing clean-up of the fire-damaged site. In the following photos from this past weekend, the property has been leveled and graded, and a foundation is being excavated. The steel H-beams will be used as support for a retaining wall to shore up the soil, protecting the foundation and providing stability as the concrete is poured and cured.