As with 327 Eddy a couple of blocks away, Pat Kraft’s 6-story building underway at 205 Dryden, called “Dryden South”, has yet to reach street level, but it’s close to going vertical. It was a little difficult to get to this site due to traffic, but the last photo shows what appear to be columns rising from a shallow mat slab foundation. Unlike the low-lying parts of Ithaca, the soil on East Hill is amenable to shallow foundations for a medium-sized building like this; all the better for the developer, since shallow foundations are cheaper than deep foundations. The steel rods at the top of the concrete columns will tie-in to the structural steel – the weight of the upper floors will be channeled down into the columns, which will then transfer the weight to the rebar mesh and concrete slab at the base (basement bottom) of the new building. The rebar mesh helps to distribute the weight of the building evenly across the slab. The thicker the mat slab is, the more weight it can support.
On a side note, it doesn’t look like John Novarr’s project at 209-215 Dryden is underway just yet, though it was originally slated to start last month. But given that Cornell has already signed up to occupy the whole building, Novarr’s project has a very good chance of moving forward, it’s just a matter of time.
Dryden South will bring 10 4-bedroom apartments to market when it opens in August 2016. The ground floor will hold 2,400 SF of retail space for Kraftee’s book and apparel store. The $6.4 million project is being built by LeChase Construction, and the design is by local architect Jagat Sharma.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
The foundation system is a Mat Slab. The basement floor is 2 feet thick concrete reinforced with Rebar all the way through. The remainder of the building will be constructed the same way with poured in place concrete reinforce with Rebar. The East and West wall will be CMU, interior metal framing. Dryden South will have a basement for Tenant services, fitness room, laundry etc. The first floor forming should start by weeks end and the building should be substantially out of the ground by the time the students return in January. Completion goal is July 1st.
Thanks! The post has been updated. I regret that I frequently struggle with identifying foundations.
Thanks for all your great work. I enjoy checking in to see progress of local projects and learn some history.
You should be aware of these relevant articles
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/09/why-its-so-hard-to-afford-a-rental-even-if-you-make-a-decent-salary/
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/renting-isnt-getting-any-cheaper-analysts-say-2015-12-09
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-beautiful-student-apartment-buildings-will-make-you-envious-2015-12-07
The problem with those arguments is that in the case of 205 Dryden, the site is right in the heart of Collegetown. The 200 Block has been primarily students since it was first built out over a century ago. For a project like State Street Triangle, those articles are more relevant because the site has other potential uses. But the two big real estate interests in inner Collegetown are student housing owner/developers and Cornell itself. Further to that, rent is going to be high because it’s a location right at Cornell’s doorstep (high demand for location), the university has a lack of on-campus housing (low supply), and there are very high property values/taxes as assessed by the city and county (which increases expenditures, and pressures the market to ask for higher rents).