The EcoVillage

Although I take a lot of jabs at “hippies”, the reason I never made it to Ecovillage before now had less to do with any personal stance and more to do with the fact it was just out of my way. Rachel Carson Way lies about a mile and a half westward of Inlet Island, nestled in the hills opposite from Cornell. This means that when I past through, it’s farthest out of my way, so time often being a priority, it always sat on the bucket list. Finally, I made the conscious effort to take a trip up on my last photo tour.

Ecovillage runs on the concept of co-housing, which in many ways runs close to most people’s idea of a commune (and mentally, I still find myself referring to it as a commune). There are optional shared dinners, a community-based work system, and of course, being in tune with the natural environment. Hence, solar arrays, housing designed to minimize energy use, foods grown on the property,  and so forth. Ecovillage isn’t unique, not even in Tompkins County (White Hawk in Danby is a smaller but similar concept). But it is probably one of the best known developments of its kind.

Ecovillage began planning in 1992-1993, when stakeholders purchased a former farm with the intent of launching an eco-friendly community.  The first neighborhood, FROG (First Resident Group), began construction in 1995 and was completed two years later. The second community, SONG (Second Neighborhood Group), received site plan approval in 2001, and was built in three phases over five years. Each of these neighborhoods has 30 units with a community center. The community also has a few other bells and whistles, like a passive bus shelter, a root cellar, carports and a berry farm. The pre-Ecovillage farmhouse and barn are now a separate property holding an antique shop and the City Lights B&B.

Ecovillage is well underway with its third neighborhood, TREE. At 40 units, TREE is slightly larger than the first two neighborhoods. Construction is definitely underway, and the majority of the community should be complete before the end of the year. Also worth a quick note, a 900 sq ft “Gourd Workshop” was under construction when I passed through. More additions, like an education center and a roadside farm stand, are in the works.

If you don’t want to be a creeper like me, Ecovillage opens itself up for a free public tour at 3 PM on the first Saturday of each month. That way, you can avoid being like me, trying to take photos when kids keep wandering in front of them, and having that awkward realization that you look like a child predator.

Ithaca Construction Photos, Spring 2013 (Non-Downtown Pt. 2, Downtown Pt. 1)

Facade work is just beginning on the new 106-room Fairfield Inn down in big box land. The project experienced a bit of a hiccup back in January when two construction workers were injured at the site, falling four stories through collapsing scaffolding above an elevator shaft. Occupancy is slated for mid-fall 2013.

Site prep is under way for the new 18,000 sq ft Planned Parenthood building on the 600 block of West Seneca Street. It would be unfair to label this a demolition. If anything, it looks like a careful deconstruction is underway for the run-down homes currently on the property, salvaging what can be reused before the rest of the structure is torn down. A maneuver like that deserves a big thumbs up. The project will begin construction during the summer, with completion around late summer 2014.

Why? Because it’s Ithaca.

5 of the 6 floors have been built for Breckinridge Place; rather curiously, only a couple bits of masonry and steel are up to where the sixth floor will be poured. The 50-unit project should be completed and ready for rentals by this fall.

This photo will very quickly become outdated. Firstly because of the Commons reconstruction, which I’ll cover at another time. Secondly, the Harold’s Square project. The 10-story, 140-building will refurbish the Sage Block and the Miller Buildings (the orange brick structure left of center), while the three buildings at center will be demolished. The mixed-use project will have retail on the bottom, office space on the first few floors, and apartments on the upper six floors (estimates range from 36 to 70). Although the project still needs some zoning variances, if all goes well, construction could start by the end of the year, with completion around mid-2015.

EDIT: Oh look, new renderings. Now the building has gone from “meh” to embracing the prison motif, with slit windows in the tower and a dour face towards the Commons. This is not going to age well…

Another soon to be outdated image. The “Lofts at Cayuga Green” will add 39 units on four 15′ floors. In a recent interview, the director of planning and development expressed concern whether the project would start this year, but given that funding is in place and the developer’s tax credits will expire otherwise, my guess is now or never.

Now, another project that is underway. Seneca Way will add 38 apartments and ground-floor office space. The five-story building is expected to be opened in Spring 2014. Meanwhile, the Argos Inn next door should finally be open for this business.

Hotel work, approved and set to begin. At top, the site for the new Marriott. With tax abatement approved, construction will start by summer, with an 18-month buildout for the 10-story, 159-room hotel. The Holiday Inn will also begin its reconstruction this year, tearing down the low-rise portions for a 9-story tower and a convention center (and a net increase of 13 rooms). The low-rise portions are slated to close in November, and while renovation of the older tower will be done by May 2014, the new tower and convention facility will probably require another year before they are completed.

All other photos will be uploaded in the final entry.

Ithaca Construction Photos, Spring 2013 (Non-Downtown)

So, for the record – driving around town trying to get pictures of all the projects outside downtown was a royal pain in the arse. Not that I don’t like to have lots on my itinerary, but more than once, my aching feet and my gas tank were making me regret the jaunt about town. A couple sites I passed without taking photos; these were projects not yet underway, such as the Thurston Avenue project, the Stone Quarry Apartments, and CU Townhomes project on Harwick Drive. I will generally not take project photos when I’m catching up with old friends; it’s a respect thing, and I also like to pretend that I’m a normal human being.

I’ll be doing a much longer post about this eventually, but the first new homes are underway for the Boiceville Cottages‘s 75-unit expansion out in Caroline. Currently, the site has about sixty units, 16 clusters of cottages and 4 3-unit buildings. The project will add 23 more clusters and two more 3-unit buildings. Also, I realize Caroline is a bit of a stretch, but it’s only a mile detour from 79, so carpe diem.

Another place that will be getting a much larger write-up eventually. This is Ecovillage’s newest neighborhood under construction. The TREE project will add 40 units, in addition to the two previous neighborhoods of 30 apiece.

The site of Cascadilla Landing.  Site Prep is supposed to be begin shortly on the 150+ unit project.

A rather unusual project, the Heritage Park Townhomes on Lincoln Street. I suppose these are supposed to be single family rentals, but I think it’s more like 3 units each. A bit ungainly and fussy, even though the detailing is appreciated.

The Aurora Street pocket neighborhood, by Cosentini Construction. 4 units, and a clever example of urban infill near the corner of Aurora and Marshall Street. The idea seems to have hit a market, as the builders are planning a second, similar development off of Lake Street.

So, this threw me for a loop. The project is Magnolia House, a 14-unit shelter/home for homeless women, under the auspices of the non-profit Tompkins Community Action. At 3/4 stories, it is one of the most visible buildings in the immediate area, with the corten steel copper plating certainly doing its part. The copper is unusual, an interesting use of materials. The windows….hate. Hate, hate, hate hodgepodges.

Although one day, the shelter may be overshadowed by a 5 or 6-story building with Purity on the ground floor. The project is still in the planning/approvals process, with about 20-24 units.

The 24-unit Iacovelli project on Seneca is near completion, with facade installation and some interior work being all that is left.

…and wordpress has told me I’ve hit the limit on photos. Planned Parenthood and the Fairfield Inn will be included in the next entry.

Collegetown Construction Photos, Spring 2013

The last time I rolled through around Thanksgiving, the Vine Street Cottages projects had two homes complete and a third underway. 4.5 months later, and the third home is complete, but the project has shown no further development. 3 homes of 29 is not a particularly auspicious sign, especially when all of the for sale signs nearby had no “sold” stickers slapped on. They’re nice homes, but it’s not easy justifying paying $300k+ when older homes of similar design are going for 100k less five minutes away.

I still cannot get over how massive the Collegetown Terrace project is. It just dominates the terminating views along the State Street corridor. The work underway at the moment is for Phase II, set to be complete this summer. Phase III will not be as visible, as those buildings will be built closer to the gorge. One thing I did realize in taking photos was that it was extremely difficult to cross East State Street, a sentiment shared by a couple of residents who were cursing loudly while trying to cross the busy road. Thankfully, improvements to the road will be made to make it more pedestrian-friendly, including reworking the traffic lanes/island and adding crosswalks. The entire project will be complete in Summer 2014.

Which by that time, I would not be surprised to see Novarr-Mackesey initiate plans for the former Palms property and its neighbors, all of which are owned by the development company.

107 Cook looks to be complete.

Maybe someday? Hopefully.

604 East Buffalo Street. Not long ago, it was home to the Crossroads Life Center, a Christian Fellowship organization. Crossroads sold the property in December 2012, anticipating a move to a newly-constructed property that appears to be in substantial need of donations in order to actually happen. Meanwhile, WVBR bought the building for its new studio, moving out of its current digs near East Hill Plaza. In the same vein, the station is in the middle of a capital campaign to renovate the structure for their needs, to the tune of $935,000. The naming rights have been bought in full by left-wing gadfly Keith Olbermann’ 79, whose donation was partly in honor of deceased classmate Glenn Corneliess.  Hence, Olbermann-Corneliess Studios. the station expects to move in by the end of fall 2013.

Apparently, Pontiac 1000s still exist in the Northeast. Growing up in a family with multiple mechanics, I knew as a child that owning this car, or more commonly its Chevette sibling, pretty much meant you gave up on life. Bravo to the person who’s kept one going this long, well after repairs would be worth more than the car itself.

Cornell Construction Photos, Spring 2013

I finally had the chance to swing through Ithaca for photo updates. Casual estimate here, I spent about 4.5 hours driving around getting photos, hitting about 90% of project sites, including all in Ithaca proper. The photos will go up over the next few days, split up because wordpress freaks out when a post has a large number of images.

The Law School addition is well underway, though casual observers may not notice since most of the expansion is underground. The project looks close to being on-time for the December 2013 completion of Phase I.

The future home of Klarman Hall. Klarman will build up the slope to an East Avenue entrance, and the small flowering trees will be no more. The rounded classroom space of Goldwin Smith will still be there, though it will be encased by the glass atrium of the new building.

Much of the work with the Food Sciences Building has been completed, with interior work and external details underway for the addition. Phase II, the renovation of the original Stocking Hall, will begin this summer and run for about a year.

I can’t help but think this looks like a gigantic Dust-Buster. The Big Red Band’s new 4,360 sq ft building is approaching completion.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about Gates Hall. The glass is high-quality, and much appreciated. However, looking at the south wall, I hope those are protective covers – to me, it just looks overly cluttered and unnecessarily “busy”. Completion of the 101,000 sq ft building is set for this December.

Thanksgiving Construction Update, Part II

It still surprises me just how prominent Collegetown Terrace is from some parts of the city. It truly is a massive project for a city of Ithaca’s size.

It looks like the first floor of concrete has been poured for Breckinridge Place. The project seeks completion in fall 2013.

Renovation is just as important as new construction.

One of the INHS new builds. Sometimes, they renovate. Other times, when the house is too far gone, or has been severely compromised from a historical perspective, then a tear-down may commence. This duplex is an example of the latter.

The Iacovelli apartment project on West Seneca is topped out, with initial facade work complete on the faux dormers, and windows recently installed.

I had expected external work to have begun for the new hotel tower for the Holiday Inn, but it appears this is not the case. I was wondering if it was interior asbestos removal, but the low-rise portion slated to be demolished looks to be fully occupied. I am honestly unsure what the time frame for initial site prep is.

Likewise, the Ithaca Marriott / Hotel Ithaca site isn’t fenced off yet, so this will probably see a late winter/ early spring construction start.

A row of homes, all set to be demolished. Two are for Planned Parenthood’s new building, but I’m unsure the reason for tearing down the other two. Parking?

The new Fairfield Inn down in big box land. Framing is underway, so completion in six to eight months is feasible.

Cayuga Place, with only vestigial site prep at best. This one probably won’t start until the Spring anyway.

Finally, something that is well underway. Asbestos removal and demolition of the former Challenge Indsutries buildings to make way for the new Seneca Way apartment building.

Site of what could be the future Harold Square. The Home Dairy and Benchwarmers buildings (the Sage Block and Miller Block, I think offhand) would be renovated, while the three smaller buildings at right would see the wrecking ball. It’s hard to imagine an 11-story building standing in the background.

End-of-Summer Construction Update, Part II

I felt a little more comfortable exploring the non-college part of Ithaca. For the most part. I bought an Ithaca Beer Company root beer at the downtown pharmacy, and because it came in a traditional beer bottle, I was concerned I’d be stopped by police for looking like I was violating open container laws. Rather than put up with that, I sat next to the ice cream counter and read the real estate section of the paper. The photos show would I did elsewhere.

I felt bad because I’ve largely ignored this project. Not purposely; it’s out of my normal search range – on the 600 block of West Seneca, near 13. The site was previous home to a service station and four homes, all of which were in poor condition. The project beings 17 units into a part of the city that has traditionally been one of the most overlooked Ithacan neighborhoods.

The new Fairfield Inn down in big-box land has had its foundation laid, and will likely be finished sometime in the spring. The hotel was approved last fall, and to be honest, I had expected this one to be further along than it was. When complete, the hotel will over another 106 rooms to the 1,800 or so currently within the Ithaca metro. On another note, the city expects a chain restaurant to be built next to the Panera Bread strip of buildings, with construction beginning in the fall.

Likewise on the progress for the Seneca Way project. For all the trouble it went through, I would hope it at least sees the light of day. The project seeks to build 32 apartments and some commercial space in a five story building on the site of the former Challenge Industries building. As for the Hotel Ithaca, no news as of late, and likely still stuck in funding limbo, a sign of our poor economic times. UPDATE 8/29/12: Apparently the Hotel is being reconfigured, switching from luxury hotel operator Gemstone Resorts to the Marriott brand. The number of rooms will be raised to 159, and the design will be slightly modified at base level. The height should remain the same. Re-approvals are required, but are not expected to be difficult to obtain. Construction is slated to begin next March, with foundation work during the winter.

Almost the same story here, except these two actually have funding arranged. The Holiday Inn expansion site in the top photo, the Cayuga Green lofts below. The Holiday Inn project started prep in July for the tear-down of the lowrise portion, to make way for a new 9-story building and conference center (I believe it was made one floor shorter from the original 10 stories, and stretched slightly longer to compensate for the loss of that floor space). The Cayuga Green project may have prep underway, judging from the equipment, but needs to start by the end of the year regardless to keep the city lawyers at bay.

And finally, one project that has made substantial progress, the Breckenridge Place Apartments on the site of the Women’s Community Building. The project will bring 50 units into downtown when completed next year.

This was a b*tch to take photos of. Most of the perimeter of the lot was covered in a black opaque tarp, tied so sceurely I had to lay on the ground and reach under it to get a photo through the fence. The front side was a bit easier. Completion should be sometime in mid-2014, although it looks like most of the exterior glass curtain wall is installed – which would place the project ahead of schedule.

Do as I say, not as I do: never take photos and try to drive on a crowded campus at the same time. But, I was running late. Tarp and foundation work underway at Gates Hall. For the curious, I stopped by the site for the Big Red Marching Facility, and the site was still pristine – this makes sense, since site prep doesn’t start until next month.

Now that screen lags my typing by about thirty seconds, I’d better but the kibosh on uploading any more photos in this entry. However, I do have the good fortune of having one my best friends accept a research position at Cornell, so I now have a legitimate excuse to visit Ithaca periodically for the next couple of years.

End-of-Summer Construction Update, Part I

I had the fortune this past weekend of being near Ithaca to attend a wedding. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, I figured it was also a good opportunity to take photos of Ithaca’s ongoing construction. So I made the drive over and tackled as much as I could in three hours, all the while avoiding students, as if my aging is a contagious disease (mentally, this involved my brain screaming “Don’t look at me! I’m old! I was once like you, now I do quaint 20-something-year-old person things!”). Awkwardness aside, I was fairly successful in my photo tour.

The Belle Sherman Cottages project continues its prep work on the east side of on the edge of the city. The model house is complete and the roads have been laid. Despite the rather high prices, a casual inspection shows that at least two of the lots have been sold. In keeping with the theme of traditional streets, the street has been named “Walnut Street”, which is an interesting choice, since walnut trees can only grow in the moderated climate of the lake shore in these parts (same goes for peaches).

Phase II of the Coal Yard Apartments is complete. This phase brings to market 25 units, and ~40 beds.

Josh Lower’s Project (Collegetown Crossing) is tied up in red tape as it seeks a very generous parking variance. Meanwhile, the current building sits underutilized, and somewhat barren. Rather disturbingly, this was a trend around much of Collegetown, with many old storefronts, such as Mama T’s and CTP, having closed their doors. It gave the entire area a derelict, ghetto quality. Not to mention some of the houses and their treatment, which I’ll cover in a future entry.

The townhouses at 107 Cook have had their framework completed. As you might recall, 107 Cook was the site of a deadly house fire in May of 2011.

On a brighter note, 309 Eddy is complete. The building replaces a 3-story apartment house, and has 24 units with 41 beds. The building is tall enough to make an impact on the Collegetown skyline as seen from other parts of the city.

…and this image is a clue that Ithaca and the electrical authorities that be should consider burying the power lines under the street. Seriously.

The massive Collegetown Terrace project by Novarr-Mackesey. In Phase I, which was just completed, eight buildings were built (seven on East State, one on N. Quarry). This amounts to about 1/5th of the projects intended 1250 or so bedrooms. Parking is generally under the building on concrete stilts, which is bad in earthquake regions, but I suppose it works for seismically-inactive Ithaca. Some of the current buildings, such as the Delano House and the Valentine Apartments, are still standing and rented, waiting to be torn down in a later phase (III, I imagine). The Williams House is not yet renovated, serving as the site office while building continues. By my guess, building “3″ from the development plans is Phase II, and is one of the long wavy buildings, specifically the one that sits closest to East State. Phase II is underway for a completion next summer, with phase III (the final phase) being completed in the summer of 2014. I suspect at that time, we’ll be hearing significant news about whatever N-M has proposed for all the properties they bought on the Palms block of Dryden Avenue – I expect something substantial, a la Collegetown Plaza.

Redevelopment of this mostly derelict and empty block would be a blessing at this point.

So, trying to break up my update into manageable chunks here (since the tech format here isn’t keen on photo-laden posts), I’ll post the rest of Ithaca and Cornell’s Campus later in the week.

News Tidbits 8/17/2012: The Tax Argument

I held off on this entry for a few days. Not because I was particularly low on time, but because I was waiting for the latest planning board project review minutes to come out, to see if there was anything newsworthy (and pretty much everything on there was minor, or I’ve already covered it, so…nope, nothing newsworthy). So I’m going to take a closer look at an article recently posted by the Ithaca Journal.

It was noted that the Collegetown Terrace (aka the giant hard hat-bedecked property south of State Street between Quarry and Valentine) is quite the tax revenue generator for the county. Now, here’s some of their numbers: The initial properties on the land, small apartment buildings and single-family homes (~29 total), were valued at $19,143,000, which would (by my calculation) generate taxes of around $700,000 per year. Just under half of that would go to the school district, with a little more than one-third (~35%) going to the city coffers, and the rest to the county. The partially-built property, as it was assessed in March, was assessed at $526,800, according to the IJ, with a property value of $14,430,000.

Now let’s keep in mind two things. The property wasn’t even finished, and finished properties garner much more in taxes; and the property is being developed in three phases, with the currently assessed phase counting for just 18 percent of that.

It would be hard for me to say what the value of the finished property is, so let’s conservatively go for 20% greater than the current value, for the sake of this exercise. That gives $17.32 million. Now let’s apply that to the developed project, 100% complete: ([100/18] * 17.316=) $96.2 million. Five times its former value before the property was sold. If taxes are kept the same, that would be a tax bill of about $3.5 million. And for the city, an extra $1 million in cash would go a long way, since the annual revenue is about $61.5 million. An extra million is equivalent to the amount Cornell pays annually in its PILOT agreement with the city.

It would not be out of place to think, “oh, but with the slow rate of growth, this is just cannibalizing other local properties”. To some extent, yes. But these are properties that have a very captive market, namely, 20,000+ Cornell students. The landlords that will be hurting the most will be those with properties furthest from campus, of which a good chunk of that hinterland lies outside city limits, in the neighboring town of Ithaca, or Lansing. In my mind, the biggest concern will be if this project pulls grad and professional students away from downtown and Fall Creek, but I imagine the effect will be minor, all things considered (most notably, because if apartments in this place are going for $1,000+ per month, then that $600 one bedroom in Fall Creek is still going to appeal to a lot of folks with tighter purse strings).

In conclusion, I think that if a developer approaches the city regarding new student housing in the Collegetown area, they’ll have a powerful card in there hand – the tax argument. I’ll be curious to see if Novarr-Mackesey mentions it when they release their proposal for the Palms property and its neighbors along the 200 block of Dryden Road.

Spring 2012 Construction Update – Cornell Edition

The new Food Sciences Building has completed a substantial amount of exterior work, although the glass facade has yet to be installed. The $105 million renovation is to be completely done in early 2014, with the new Dairy Bar sometime earlier than that.

Site prep is underway at Gates Hall (the new Computer Science building). The $60 million, 103,000 sq ft building is targeting a December 2013 completion date.

It’ll be a happy day when these plain beige boxes are removed. Unfortunately, the $51 million renovation of Warren Hall that necessitated their construction will not be complete until early 2015 (with the Dyson School portion complete by mid-2013 – and it annoys me to refer to the AEM Department as the Dyson School, as if the perceived pedigree was needed to remove themselves from the stigma of CALS).

Not the most telling image, but Rice and Fernow Halls are currently in the middle of their renovations.

This Bradfield-based photo of Fernow shows the partially-subterranean classroom being built on the east side of the building.