I tend to agree. Wasn't planned very well.

btw, I think the empty lot (except for some parking) at Williams St and Stewart Ave would be a perfect place for a pk garage and hi-rise apartment building. Unfortunately I think Cornell owns the property. I doubt they would develop it that way, and it's tax exempt under their ownership.

I also think that Cornell should put apartments with ground floor retail up on their property at East Hill Plaza as well, but that probably won't happen either.

^ Works for me.

Here's a short article on the dragon Boat races over the weekend:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607170317/1002

Maybe an SSP boat next year?;)

":The SSP Ithaca meet/Dragon Boat race- 7/13/07":tup:

Ex-Ithacan, you'd better start getting in shape if you want to be on the SSP team:P

I thought I could beat the drum.:drummer: ;)

A short article about a new hotel in the burbs:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607180312/1002

Every little bit helps.:D

Well, technically, it mentions two hotels- the Country Inn for Ithaca, and the one in Lansing. As for the one it mentions in Cortland that was built recently---I've been there, and it's actually quite nice. Well, the hotel school students at Cornell have more options for their work-study if they live in Ithaca for the summer.

Technically, there's a new hotel under construction in Auburn to the north as well, but that's off the point.

I guess I should have mentioned the Country Inn (near Ithaca College). I was fairly sure I'd posted an article about that before, but was too darn lazy to look back through all the junk I've posted in this thread. :rolleyes: :D

While it's sad to see the theater I saw "Ghostbusters" in torn down, The theater had sat mostly vacant (with a small revival) for the better part of the last 15 plus years. Besides, with a location near the Airport business park, Cornell, and the malls it makes sense.

^ I remember when the Cinemas were built. I thought it would never work cause it was too far from downtown. So much for my foresight.

Hey all you groovy guys and gals, time to put the tie-dye clothes and flowered headbands on and get ye to the Ithaca area for a far out musical gathering.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...ERTAINMENT0402


And don't forget your sleeping bags.:notacrook:

OK, I'm gonna overload ya.

First a couple of pics from downtown event:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...50/1002/NEWS01

The saga of the Collegetown parking garage continues:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps.../60720001/1002

A new suburban development (not big, but of course controversial):
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607200348/1002

Finally, a summer tradition of screwing up traffic and streets all over the city:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps.../60720002/1002

Gotta love the place.

And where I live and work now, 50 units is literally just another day at the office. Just what the world needs, another series of homes owned by Lucente that will get behind on their taxes at some point (If you ever look at the tax delinquency logs in the Journal, about half of it is Lucente at any given point.)

^I think the biggest concern is the proximity to Sapsucker Woods. Sprawl on dude.



Hey there folks, I found a pic of downtown (at least most of it) on the net and it's not bad. There's still a few blocks missing (to the right and the bottom), but you'll get the idea.

http://livingindryden.org/images/aer...6_edited-1.jpg

I was gonna post this as a guess the city, but I figured I wouldn't be fooling anyone.:shrug:

You would've fooled the likes of me.....^^^^ Nice aerial...I love looking at cities of any size......

^ Yeah, but you're easy to fool dony ;) j/k.

I wish the pic had included the blocks to the right, A couple of the taller downtown structures there.
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2254/ith45283lb.jpg

Guess I'll have to pull a Don B or KC gridlock and get above Ithaca on my own.:haha:

Haven't been back there since college. The Holiday Inn was brand new. Is that new huge thing where Woolworth's was? In the aerial, also looks like another huge block building north of the Commons. Looks like that dreadful garage behind the Commons is still there.

Whoa WonderlandPark, you're one of us older forumers? Yippee, another mature member.

There have been quite a few changes in Ithaca since the 70s. The old Woolworths bldg is now the county library. The big structure next to it is a 700 car parking garage. A midrise condo building is to be built behind the garage next to six mile creek. The green street parking garage is going to be partially dismantled, and the the helix and bridge over Green st will be removed to make way for a new mid rise office/apartment building with retail and multi screen theatre complex. At the intersection of Seneca and Tioga, a new office bldg/Hilton hotel has been built.

Which school did you go to, Cornell or IC? Whichever, you probably wouldn't recognize Collegetown:

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6...hctown12zg.jpg

Anyway, always nice to have another person who knows the natural beauty (if bad weather) of Ithaca.:D

I graduated in Planning at Cornell in '90, The Cascadian? (the one that curves and follows the road) or whatever it was called was brand spanking new and raised a stink because it was built for students with federal low-income aid intended for the poor not students. I lived in Cascadilla for my Sophmore year. The bank, Fleet?, looks like it is now a brick apartment building, or is it on the corner?

so, not that old, but old enough on this board.

Oops, sorry WP. Didn't mean to make you older than you are. I use to work in a gas station where Eddygate is now located (the big white curved building in C-town). As far as I know the bank is still there, but the sub shop in the old apartment bldg on the corner by Eddygate is gone. The old wood frame apartment building is gone and replaced by a new 6 story brick apartment building.

Two of the many faces of the Ithaca area. The first is for science geeks:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607240302/1002

the second is for the hippies:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps.../60724001/1002

Gotta love the place.:D

I'm kind of bummed. The developers of the Cayuga Green project have submitted new plans. It looks like they are proceeding with a smaller version of the original project. What was to have been an 8 story building will now be 5 stories. Not the most attractive rascal either. Oh well, I guess it's better than a parking lot. Here's an article with a couple of pics with the new model (click on the pic to enlarge).

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607260329/1002

It's okay. It's bland, quietly bland but that's not terrible...maybe fitting for a quiet area? It'll be fresh..Bummer about lopping off those extra floors though.

In picture 1 of the 7 picture 'gallery' from the article, that woman Mary Tomlan...either she was horrified or had a toothache.....?

Hey it sure beats a WalMart superCenter.....

It's a shame, yes, but if it is built, it invites more residents to downtown Ithaca, and serve as a stimulus for further development. It also helps to make the community a little denser. real shame they lowered the number of floors, I would like to see a new attractive midrise in Ithaca before this decade is out.

^ I know I should appreciate any development downtown, and I do. There is one midrise (6 stories) going up now just up the street from the Cayuga Green project. There is also talk of another apartment building going up along Green street also. It is still in the initial stages, but the thought for right now is 85' tall (probably 8 stories). The extra bit of height and the increased density will help the downtown both economically and impression-wise.

here's an article on the apartment building under construction:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=216620&rfi=6
:tup:

Two steps forward, one step back. Life of a development lover in Ithaca.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607270353/1002

:(

Hey, it's official, Ithaca's hip.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...607280330/1002

:haha:

For a second, I thought that was in the latest trends. I just received a copy of the Cornell Sun that called Ithaca "a Fashion Void".

But here's some of the developments they highlighted in the "new campus constructions" article:

-Additions to Lynah Rink (400 more seats) and the Hoy Parking Garage (new parking level)
-Building a tunnel under Tower Road to connect the Plant Sciences and the new Life Sciences building (est. completion of the 80,000 sq. ft structure: 1/2008)
-new Vet school building (4 floors, 55 million dollars est. completion 9/2007)
-Hans Bethe House and Noyes Recreation Centre, and two more dorm buildings (starting construction in 1/2007)
-proposed: a new building north of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, and a new Physical Sciences building, and an underground addition to the art museum, and a new Architecture hall (Milstein Hall)
-sites being considered fro the 100,000 sq. ft Gates Hall (named after you-know-who after making a large donation)
and i know how much everyone loves renderings, so...

http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell...s/milstein.jpg
Milstein Hall
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Stories/March05/LSTB.jpg
Life Sciences Building

Having been in town last week, I am assuming the new building north of Martha Van is replacing the one built in the 60's/early 70's that was torn down in the last year or so. Seeing that my grandma used to work in that building, it caught me off guard when it wasn't there anymore.

^^ Thanks for the info and summary Vis. I sometimes forget what happens at Cornell can be counted as happening in Ithaca.

And let's not ignore IC...

http://www.ithaca.edu/news/dbimages/7_display.jpg

Ithaca, NY—Ithaca College’s plans to build a new multipurpose indoor Athletics & Events Center have received a considerable boost, with a $9 million gift from the Atlantic Philanthropies and a $1 million gift from the French American Charitable Trust. Caroleen Feeney, a 1986 graduate of Ithaca College and member of its board of trustees, is connected to both philanthropic foundations, which have previously supported the College’s music and gerontology programs. The gift from Atlantic includes a challenge grant of $4 million—Ithaca College must raise an additional $4 million to receive those funds.

Groundbreaking on the building project is targeted for 2007, with an anticipated opening in 2009.

^ Good stuff Vis. I think there are also plans for a new Business school building at IC.

Found something interesting on the net. The apartment building I grew up in is for sale. My folks bought it in the 50s for $16,000 and sold it in the 60s for $22,000. It's a bit pricier now (but looks like crap). We lived on the first floor(in what was a small 2 bedroom apt). Anyway, if you click on the link, go to Full Details at Jim Shreve to see a couple of pics. The first is across the street from the bldg, and the 2nd is looking up the hill from the same spot. Still have quite the fondness in my heart for the old rat-trap.

http://www.trulia.com/property/10177...thaca-NY-14850

Um, did the value of that property go up or what:sly:? Even with inflation, it would only be about 110k. A good coat of paint or some vinyl siding, and some porch work looks like it would do this building some wonders. So Ex-Ithacan, did you live somewhere else in Ithaca when your family sold this building, or did you move out of Ithaca period?

My folks split up, and my mother, brother and I moved into a grand old home around the corner (which had become a 10 unit apt bldg). Stayed there until I graduated from high school when I left the city.

I think it would take more than paint and siding to get it back in shape. I stopped by a couple of years ago, and the place was a total mess inside. Our apt had been sliced and diced into a 3 bedroom job. Holes in the hallway walls, quite the student ghetto. I was trying to get some owner info so I could buy the wrought iron hand-rail on the front porch. My grandfather (who was a blacksmith) had made it. No luck so far.

I'm dreading the day that my family will have to sell my grandparents house on South Hill and hope that it doesn't become another student ghetto house like some of the others on their block.

"Two steps forward, one step back. Life of a development lover in Ithaca."

Here's two more steps forward. The extra funding for Green Garage passed 7-3.
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...608040340/1002

Oh, and Office Depot celebrated its grand opening. Yay for pencil pushers!

Now for the step back-it appears three stores in the Commons area are going out of business.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...608040324/1002

EDIT: And while perusing for Syracuse items, I found this new Church in Ithaca town:
http://www.bardenchurches.com/Ithaca.asp
http://www.bardenchurches.com/images.../extIthaca.jpg

I tell ya Vis, it's a curse for city/downtown fans. I didn't know about the church, good find. btw, I saw on News10now that the IDA didn't grant the tax breaks the Cayuga Green folks were looking to get. I guess there's still hope though, it just has to go through a public hearing phase (watch the NIMBYs rally against this one).


@ whit - I've heard parts of South Hill are getting student ghetto-ish. Especially around Prospect St.

1) The Cayuga Green project has to go back before the public because of the amended plan. Don't worry, the amended plan probably will go through, just that the city has to cover itself legally.

2) About time to see something take the place of the former Office Max on Meadow St.

As far as the openings on the Commons, you're talking about 3 or 4 big holes about to open up there, with an anchor of Center Ithaca, the former Harolds (Night & DAy), and (after the primary ends) the retail part of the former Rothschilds (currently being used for the Tom Suozzi campaign) coming open on that side of the Commons. Not to mention that there still is nothing on the first floor of Cayuga Green. Well, at least there are 2 new bars downtown. (one in the second floor of the former Holleys (Now Trader K's used clothing on the first floor) and Fitzpatricks (in the Seneca Place project).

^ I'm hoping some more restaurants and, in my wildest dreams, a comedy club might open in the downtown area. Doesn't seemas if the Commons can attract any "mainstream" retailers. The thing downtown really needs is a food market of some sort (with a pharmacy included). If all the proposed residential structures are built, there will be hundreds of new residents with no place to shop for groceries.

I agree with you, since the Wegmans and the P & C are a bit too far away. I'd just settle for somewhere that you can buy meat, since there still is that natural foods place in the Dewitt Mall for all the vegetables.

I think a mini-Wegmans (for urban setting) would be a good experiment. If successful, they could look into all kinds of cities where downtown residential is taking off.

They used to have some of those around Rochester (Mt. Read and in Midtown Plaza), but they've gotten away from it when they realized that building monster stores around Philly and DC would bring in more money.

Ex, since we're discussing Ithaca, I figured this would be the best place to put in my two cents.

Kiplinger's and Cities R&R give Ithaca National Billing. Ithaca gets the equivalent to a pat on the back.
VegNews and Mother Earth News and Outside Magazine give it a thumbs up, and suddenly, everybody seems interested in visiting the area. "Oh, Ithaca is cool, the magazine said so! We have to visit there this summer!"

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a bad thing. But I want someone to explain to me how top-billing ratings are virtually ignored, but little commendations attract dozens of calls to the local tourism office. It's time like these that I have to wonder about the priortities of people. Who knows, maybe if Ithaca gets a "Best Small City Atmoshpere" award, they'll be able to attract some new business to the Commons and the city.

^ Tis a strange, strange world indeed Vis. I guess every little bit of positive pub helps. Of course there are quite a few Ithacans who hope no more people move to the area and it stays the same as it is for the rest of humankinds time on Earth. Whaddya gonna do?

Because at the end of the day, despite all the commendations by Kiplingers and Cities R& R, Ithaca is still, as the bumper sticker says, centrally isolated. When you're 25 miles or so from the nearest interstate, with a joke of an airport in town, relocating your business is a bit dicey. For the Earth First types that want to get off of the grid for a few days, however, Ithaca is heaven on earth.

I like your response whit. Ithaca's remoteness is a blessing and a curse.

From the Journal: "Man dies at Lucifer Falls"

Does anyone see that as eerie in a verbal way?

http://www.bardenhomes.com/BardenCom...acaMedical.jpg
And this image came up in one of my Syracuse searches. It's s'posed to be in the town of Ithaca, and a 'new' facility (Ithaca Medical Center), But I have no idea if this is one year old of five.

^ Not sure what that is Vis. Yeah, I wondered about the Lucifer falls death too. btw, another gorge death (3 in 2 weeks):

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...608150330/1002


But not all the news is bad:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...608150324/1002

:)

Holy Schmokeys, looks like Ithaca is gonna make the CBS national news on friday (8/18). I know it's not for anything important, but any publicity is good publicity for a small town, right?

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...608160325/1002

I guess in little burgs like Ithaca and Two Rivers, little arguments like this give people something to talk about beyond the news and weather.

Friday's the same day I move to Ithaca too, coincidentally.