Not to belabor a point, but here's another article about Seneca Way from the Ithaca Journal. I hope this is the start of something big for downtown.
Seneca Way complex a boost for Ithaca
City to welcome new apartments, office building
Written by
David Hill
ITHACA — In about a year, 38 new apartments and two offices are scheduled to open at the foot of East Hill with the new Seneca Way complex on the site of the former pink concrete-block Challenge Industries building.
Newman Development, the Vestal-based company in charge of the project, hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in Challenge’s former parking lot Wednesday afternoon.
City officials and bankers joined representatives of Newman to herald the redevelopment of the site, vacant since Challenge moved to a new home two years ago on South Hill.
The Seneca Way project, at the westbound and northern tine of the Tuning Fork intersection east of The Commons, will have an underground parking garage, offices on the ground floor and four floors of apartments above.
The project is the latest in a series of major developments in downtown Ithaca.
Already under construction is Breckenridge Place, apartments on the site of the former Women’s Community Building at Seneca and Cayuga streets. Other planned projects include an expansion of the Holiday Inn on South Cayuga Street; another phase of Cayuga Green, the retail-apartment complex in the vicinity of the Tompkins County Public Library on Green Street; and Collegetown Crossing, the student-oriented apartment complex just up East State/Martin Luther King Jr. Street from downtown.
A plan to redevelop a group of buildings on The Commons into retail, office and apartment space is in the early stages of city review.
A Marriott hotel is also in the works at The Commons east end. The 10-story hotel received its final approval from the city Planning and Development Board Tuesday evening.Newman Development vice president Jeff Smetana said the company approached the city a few years ago with the goal of building more student housing.
The company was told there were too many similar projects under way and what the city really needed was more non-student housing for professionals.
As the project went through city review, it got smaller and economically less viable, but Newman contacted the National Development Council, a not-for-profit organization that helps arrange financing for underserved communities.
National Development packaged a federal tax-credit program sold to an investor, in this case PNC Bank of Pittsburgh.
Also backing Seneca Way are M&T Bank and Tompkins Trust Co., Newman said.
The building will be owned by a partnership of Newman Development and Warren Real Estate of Ithaca, which has committed to leasing office space in the building for its new city location. The Park Foundation is also lined up as a tenant.
Mayor Svante Myrick lauded Seneca Way Wednesday as not only a boost to the tax base, but a sign of where the city is going — drawing more downtown residents, revitalizing the city and heading off suburban sprawl.
“This project and the other projects that are happening downtown are going to answer that question,” Myrick said. “They are saying where we are headed. We are headed to a city that’s livable, that’s walkable, it’s sustainable, not just environmentally but economically.”
Gary Ferguson, executive director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, predicted that the Seneca Way building will become a landmark and the eastern gateway to downtown.
“We’re going to build another landmark for our city, for our community,” Ferguson said. “Anyone coming east and west in this city is going to see this building. So not only is this an important, I think, economic movement for us, but it’s for our community psyche as well.”
Remediation work has begun in the Challenge building, Smetana said. The site presents challenges, including a steep grade, rock and poor soil, he said.
Apartments will range from about 900 to 1,300 square feet.
Rents have not been set, but the units will be aimed at the professional, not student, market. The project is not receiving local tax abatements, he said.
Design of the project has been done by HOLT Architects. Construction will be performed by Northeast United Corp., which is part of the Newman Development Group.
National Development packaged a federal tax-credit program sold to an investor, in this case PNC Bank of Pittsburgh.
Also backing Seneca Way are M&T Bank and Tompkins Trust Co., Newman said.
The building will be owned by a partnership of Newman Development and Warren Real Estate of Ithaca, which has committed to leasing office space in the building for its new city location. The Park Foundation is also lined up as a tenant.
Mayor Svante Myrick lauded Seneca Way Wednesday as not only a boost to the tax base, but a sign of where the city is going — drawing more downtown residents, revitalizing the city and heading off suburban sprawl.
“This project and the other projects that are happening downtown are going to answer that question,” Myrick said. “They are saying where we are headed. We are headed to a city that’s livable, that’s walkable, it’s sustainable, not just environmentally but economically.”
Gary Ferguson, executive director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, predicted that the Seneca Way building will become a landmark and the eastern gateway to downtown.
“We’re going to build another landmark for our city, for our community,” Ferguson said. “Anyone coming east and west in this city is going to see this building. So not only is this an important, I think, economic movement for us, but it’s for our community psyche as well.”
Remediation work has begun in the Challenge building, Smetana said. The site presents challenges, including a steep grade, rock and poor soil, he said.
Apartments will range from about 900 to 1,300 square feet.
Rents have not been set, but the units will be aimed at the professional, not student, market. The project is not receiving local tax abatements, he said.
Design of the project has been done by HOLT Architects. Construction will be performed by Northeast United Corp., which is part of the Newman Development Group.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...text|FRONTPAGE