To be 100% honest, I was a little worried about how the building would look before the exterior materials started to go on. But thankfully, those worries seem to have been overblown. The terra cotta that graces the front and side looks good, and being a similar color to the original mid 1920s building allows the new five-story overbuild to pay its respects without mimicking the original brick. The peach-colored material is NuTech Direct Applied Finishing System (DAFS) stucco. While not as visually interesting perhaps, the rear of the building will be mostly hidden by the new Hilton Canopy hotel when that begins construction later this spring. There have been plans for a mural on the Carey’s western wall as well.
Many of the new windows have been fitted, although in some areas like the third floor, the window openings were more likely to be covered in plastic sheets rather than panes of glass. Someone familiar can correct me if I’m wrong, but the boards on front of the curtain wall are placeholders a brown or dark brown-tinted glass. The small openings on the west face will have a clear, marble-block glass. Roofing still needs to be taken care of, and taking a guess, drywall and interior finishing is underway in the more complete areas (I want to write lower floors, but I wonder if the lower residential floors are actually further along than Rev’s third-floor space), and utilities rough-ins on the floors/spaces that aren’t as far along.
Although it’s a fairly modern shape in a city that loves its historic designs, it looks like it will be a nice addition to the downtown skyline. Local firm John Snyder Architects penned up the design, Travis Hyde Properties is the developer, and those guys hoisting the Old Glory are either direct or indirect employees of general contractor LeChase Construction.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
This is the extremely rare building that turns out better than the renderings.