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  #1261  
Old Posted Sep 29, 2010, 4:24 PM
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Another take on the proposed big Cornell University project (from the Cornell Daily Sun):



ERL Project Continues With Planning

September 29, 2010
By Kayla DeLeon
Despite concerns by local Ithacans that construction on Cornell’s Energy Recovery Linac Project would exacerbate city traffic congestion, the University has said that it will continue to move forward with the project, hopefully as soon as 2013.

The project involves both doubling the length of Cornell’s current underground particle accelerator and the construction of a $500 million facility that researchers say would make Ithaca home to the most powerful X-ray technology in the world.

“The better beams at the ERL, compared to our present 30-year-old storage ring source, will allow us to do new things that will have a real technological impact to our society not only in Tompkins County, but to all of America and the world,” Prof. Donald Bilderback, applied and engineering physics, said.

The main parts of the ERL, or what Bilderback described as its “heart,” are the linear accelerators, which total 640 meters in length. These linear accelerators are what will permit the ERL to grant researchers access to visual representations through X-ray analysis of the inner workings of particles the length of a mere nanometer, such as nanoparticles, viruses, cells and catalysts.

The project could also shed light on technologies for a sustainable future, Bilderback said, by furthering research on fuel cell technology.

Worldwide, only 81 particle accelerators exist, and only 27 are stationed in North America. Currently, the largest particle accelerator is housed in Switzerland. According to a list compiled by the Physics Institute at the University of Bonn, Cornell is the only Ivy League institution to own a particle accelerator.

Particle accelerators such as the CHESS, Cornell’s current X-ray source, have such immense capabilities that it is hard to grasp the magnitude of the abilities the ERL will possess.

“The collective scope of the projects going on at CHESS is immense — dozens of different techniques investigating everything from tiny proteins to the gritty details of how metal compounds structure themselves to uncovering paintings that were lost underneath new paintings,” Robin Baur grad said.

Though some citizens of Ithaca expressed their concern to The Ithaca Journal that the ERL project will lead to inconvenient traffic jams, Bilderback said, “[The project organizers] have stayed clear of all major campus buildings for our underground work.”

However, Darby Kiley, a member of the town of Ithaca’s planning department, noted that “one lane of Judd Falls Road will be closed during construction.”

The “subway-style tunnel” is to be burrowed underneath of the Cornell “B” parking lot near the Veterinary School, and the traffic increase is predicted to be comparable to that caused by the new Life Sciences building construction on central campus, or the Physical Sciences building soon to be completed, Bilderback said.

According to The Ithaca Journal, construction of the new facility will take a total of five years. The Ithaca Planning Board’s notations from a September 21 meeting regarding the project document the need for the excavation of a hole 14 feet in diameter and up to one kilometer deep.

The Town of Ithaca’s Planning Board noted that the construction will not begin any earlier than 2013, with an estimated completion date no sooner than 2019. The extensive funding required drags out the long timeline for the project.

The ERL’s funding must first be discussed with the National Science Foundation, and details concerning construction noise, as well as spoils disposal, must be established with the Ithaca Planning Board before any further action is taken.

“The project would not begin until 2013 because funding might not be secured until that time, not because of the Town’s approval process,” Darby Kiley, the Ithaca planner, said.



Here's the link: http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...inues-planning
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  #1262  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2010, 1:29 AM
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I agree that the area for more dense/height development should be expanded some. Article from the Ithaca Journal about Collegetown's future develpment plan:



Council group not thrilled with Collegetown plan
Development limits too restrictive, some fear
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • September 29, 2010, 9:25 pm

One year after Ithaca Common Council voted to endorse the Collegetown Urban Plan, lawmakers are now seeing the first attempt at implementation -- and several of them are not thrilled.

After a new zoning plan for Collegetown was presented to Council's planning committee earlier this month, four of the panel's five members said they don't think it goes far enough to spur new development in the area's core.

The committee must approve the plan before it sent to the full council, with two public meetings scheduled in the next couple of months.

Alderman Svante Myrick, D-4th, said he was "entirely unsatisfied," while Alderman Dan Cogan, D-5th, said the projected increase in maximum developable square footage "is pretty anemic."

But Alderwoman Ellen McCollister, D-3rd, the only member of the planning committee who was part of an internal city group charged with taking the Urban Plan and implementing it, said she isn't sure her colleagues realize just how much new development the rezoning will allow.

According to calculations done by the city Planning Department, the new plan would result in a net increase in allowable maximum building space of 3.6 percent or 154,845 square feet in the Collegetown core and surrounding neighborhoods. In the core area alone, the increase would be 6.5 percent or 454,590 square feet.

Myrick, whose ward includes Collegetown, said that a 6 percent change is not going to provide an incentive for property owners to redevelop the most expensive land in the city, and won't result in enough safe, new housing for his constituents.

And when demand isn't met it doesn't disappear, it just moves, Myrick said, citing The Commons smoking ban as an example.

"When we put in the smoking ban, people moved to the edge of the smoking ban, closest to the center of The Commons. They didn't move 20 feet down from the borderline or around the corner, they moved right to the borderline. Similarly when we put in the Collegetown moratorium ... we saw development pressure move directly across the border, which in this case is the heavily trafficked State Street," he said, referring to developer John Novarr's proposal for the Collegetown Terrace Apartments.

"To me it's no coincidence that this popped up literally right outside the edge of what we restricted," Myrick said.

McCollister said that the proposed development increase will be "more than enough" to meet student housing demand, and will hopefully provide other benefits, such as office space or a hotel that could provide 365-day activity in Collegetown, rather than the nine-month activity and three-month "dead zone" that currently exists.

To put the increase in perspective, in the Southwest commercial district, the city allowed 800,000 square feet of retail and 200,000 square feet of office development over 360 acres, she said.

In Collegetown, with the proposed zoning increase and an incentive zone at the core allowing even more height, "what we're talking about is an additional 575,000 square feet of development build-out potential in the area of three or four city blocks."

"I want to make sure I'm protecting the residential life for people who are trying to hang on here and maintain their homes and have some quality of life," McCollister said, noting that 75 percent of the city's housing stock is rental, as compared to roughly 50 percent statewide.

Alderman Eric Rosario, I-2nd, said he thought the plan did an admirable job protecting surrounding neighborhoods but questioned, "is there enough in the center to actually make this work?"

Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Dotson, I-1st, said she wants to "make sure we're getting what we can out of the areas that can handle more housing, while still holding it down in the periphery."

While much of the focus in last year's debate was on building height, Dotson said her primary focus in implementation is changing the parking system.

"To me the larger impacts are not necessarily the density of people, but they're the density of cars. And the more we can de-couple that, the better," she said.

The Collegetown plan calls for implementing a payment-in-lieu system that would allow developers to build apartments with limited or no on-site parking in exchange for paying for other transportation improvements for pedestrians, bikes, and buses.

Implementing the new parking system won't increase the maximum developers can build, but it will make it easier for them to achieve that maximum, Planning Board Chairman John Schroeder said.

The incentive zone, which would apply to properties just south of the intersection of College Avenue and Dryden Road, allows developers to build up to 75 feet high, in exchange for other benefits, such as providing green space, building something besides student housing, or converting a rented home in a nearby neighborhood back to single-family use.

Council members had originally intended the incentive to allow two extra stories, but the working group learned that because of building code requirements, it may only mean one extra story. The council members said they're now considering raising that height to accommodate two stories.

"For a developer it makes no sense," Myrick said. "You add one extra floor of apartments and two floors of office space and you're losing money. Why not just build the 60 feet and make it all apartments?"

"I would be open, and I say this with some trepidation, ... to the idea of a second floor for an incentive zone, if it can be proven to me that that's what it's going to take to get people to buy into the incentive zone, and only if we take all this pressure off the periphery and put it into the core," McCollister said. "That is the essential piece. And if that's what it takes to get this proposal through, then I am certainly willing to have conversations about it."

The planning committee is tentatively scheduled to discuss the Collegetown plan again at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in City Hall, 108 E. Green St. A special meeting of the full Common Council on the topic is scheduled for Nov. 17.


Here's the link: http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...llegetown+plan
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  #1263  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2010, 1:42 PM
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Keep up the good work Ex! Love your posts!
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  #1264  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2010, 11:25 PM
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^ Thanks McReady. I sometimes wonder if any other folks care about what happens in the 5 sq miles of Ithaca, but I guess I can't get the city out of my blood. btw, what's your connection to the old place?
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  #1265  
Old Posted Oct 1, 2010, 11:28 PM
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Here's some preliminary info about the recent survey done in the city (see post #1251). Article from the Ithaca Times:


9/30/2010 9:37:00 AM

Urban designers assess Ithaca

Joseph Murtagh
Reporter

Ithaca was a recent recipient of a competitive annual $15,000 grant from the American Institute of Architects, which picks eight cities each year to participate in its "SDAT" program. Short for Sustainability Design Assessment Team, the SDAT is a multi-disciplinary group of urban experts from across the country, including architects, economists, city planners and design professionals. The team swoops into a city, spends a few days observing and getting input from the public, and then gives recommendations on how the city can best plan for the future.

Ithaca's SDAT was in town from Sept. 20-22, and on the evening of the 22nd, the team held a public meeting in the Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library. Members of the community were present, as well as representatives from city government, city planning staff and the local colleges. The purpose of the meeting, said team leader Erica Gees, was to give a set of "broad-brushed assessments" that could "inspire future development."

"We're coming in from the outside," said Gees. "We don't have financial ties to Ithaca and we're not from the area."

Each of the SDAT members gave a short presentation that focused on his or her area of expertise, and many ideas were put forth. Suggestions included developing special corridors that would improve connections between the different areas of the city, introducing transit systems, establishing "gateway points" into the city, redesigning the Ithaca Commons, reinforcing State Street as a principle downtown thoroughfare, making the city more friendly to walkers and bikers, articulating city sidewalks with streetscape elements like lighting and signage, and creating a "One Ithaca" civic initiative that would increase cooperation between all the major interests in the city. The general assessment in the room was that while Ithaca was a pretty great city overall -participants lauded the lakes, the hills and the scenic beauty -there was still major room for improvement.

One of the more entertaining presentations was from Jane Jenkins, president and chief executive officer of Downtown Oklahoma City, whose presentation focused on the subject of "branding."

"Branding is your reputation," she said, as she the asked the audience to hold a picture in their minds as she listed off a number of cities, ending with Detroit. "Your brand is what someone thinks of you, not what you say you are."

Jenkins went on to explain that Ithaca's most iconic representation was the Ithaca Commons, but that it was in need of a facelift.

"We're all agreed that you need to keep the Commons," she said, before showing a number of photographs of the Commons she had taken during her visit. Contrasting the Commons with photos of outdoor plazas and pedestrian malls in cities like Boulder and Barcelona, she pointed out that the Commons has several very unattractive features: gouges in the brick, Christmas lights hanging from bushes, stained concrete, ugly newspaper dispensers, confusing signage, duct tape on the infrastructure and unusual-looking art.

The audience also heard from Joel Mills, director of the Center for Communities by Design, who suggested that the city adopt a council-management style of government, where a city manager would run the city instead of a mayor.

"It's a form of government that's becoming more popular these days," he explained. "It came out of the progressive era, which would suit Ithaca's politics. There are a lot of advantages to it, chief of which is professional non-political leadership."


Here's the link to the article: http://www.ithacatimes.com/main.asp?...04&TM=67245.64
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  #1266  
Old Posted Oct 4, 2010, 3:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan View Post
^ Thanks McReady. I sometimes wonder if any other folks care about what happens in the 5 sq miles of Ithaca, but I guess I can't get the city out of my blood. btw, what's your connection to the old place?
What what? I certainly care about what happens in those 5 square miles, and that you take the time out to share them. Heck Ex, you find what I don't.

Anywho, Lansing is getting a locally-owned 14,000 sq ft grocery store:

http://www.lansingstar.com/around-to...to-open-in-may
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  #1267  
Old Posted Oct 4, 2010, 3:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan View Post
^ Thanks McReady. I sometimes wonder if any other folks care about what happens in the 5 sq miles of Ithaca, but I guess I can't get the city out of my blood. btw, what's your connection to the old place?
I'm a frequent visitor and I'm interested in the development, architecture and construction industry. It's interesting to see how small cities like Ithaca grow or stay the same. I look for your posts every single day, sometimes more than once. Please, keep up the excellent work as it's greatly appreciated by myself and others. I really don't know what I'd do without it!
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  #1268  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2010, 3:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Visiteur View Post
What what? I certainly care about what happens in those 5 square miles, and that you take the time out to share them. Heck Ex, you find what I don't.

Anywho, Lansing is getting a locally-owned 14,000 sq ft grocery store:

http://www.lansingstar.com/around-to...to-open-in-may
Ooops, sorry Vis, I forgot.

btw, I like to keep tabs on your blog. Nice pics with the latest entry.


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  #1269  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2010, 3:24 PM
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Originally Posted by McReadyInt View Post
I'm a frequent visitor and I'm interested in the development, architecture and construction industry. It's interesting to see how small cities like Ithaca grow or stay the same. I look for your posts every single day, sometimes more than once. Please, keep up the excellent work as it's greatly appreciated by myself and others. I really don't know what I'd do without it!
Awww shucks, now you're just embarrassing me.

Thanks for the compliment.
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  #1270  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2010, 3:35 PM
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A project for the Village of Lansing (the land of the malls) which looks kind of iffy at this point. From the Ithaca Journal:


Tompkins IDA lukewarm on proposed tax deal from BJ's Wholesale Club
Agreement sought for project involving retailer, senior housing
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • October 1, 2010, 7:50 pm

A developer's proposal Friday to divert some of the property tax revenue that would come from a new BJ's Wholesale Club at the Shops at Ithaca Mall to subsidize 12 senior housing units received a tepid response from several members of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency.

Mall developer Eric Goetzmann and project adviser Andrew Sussman first gave a presentation to the IDA about the proposal in June. Goetzmann wanted to build a new BJ's just north of the mall on land zoned for low-density commercial, which doesn't allow retail. After more than a year of discussion, the Village of Lansing has passed legislation that would change the zoning and allow the BJ's to come in, but only if Goetzmann also builds senior housing and a wetland and bird sanctuary nearby, Sussman said.

The senior housing does not make financial sense by itself, especially because the village will allow only one-story structures, the developers said. They're asking the IDA for a unique Pilot Increment Financing deal under which the retailer would pay its full property taxes, but some of the money would be diverted to underwrite the senior housing.

The specific deal proposed Friday would last 20 years. The current property taxes paid on the parcel total $30,000, Sussman said. The property taxes on the new senior housing project would be paid in full to the county, village and school district, while the public revenue from the BJ's would be set at $39,000 initially, then rise 2.3 percent each year, he said.

In the first year after the parcels are built, Sussman estimated the total property taxes on the parcel would rise to $70,000, while new sales tax revenue could total $1 million to $1.6 million.

IDA and Ithaca Common Council member Dan Cogan, D-5th, said he worried about the precedent that might be set if the IDA, for the first time ever, helped bring in a big-box retailer. On the other hand, if the IDA views the deal strictly from the point of view of subsidizing the 12 units of housing, "that's a pretty big subsidy," he said.

Cogan said he looked at historical data on the 10-year property tax subsidies for the Gateway and Cayuga Green developments in the City of Ithaca and the per-unit "subsidy is nowhere near as big."

Board member Larry Baum was flabbergasted that his fellow board members weren't excited about the potential for $1 million in new sales tax revenue.

"The last time I checked, an extra million dollars in the county budget would solve a lot of problems," he said. "We need to have the conversations to make this happen."

IDA and county Legislature Chairwoman Martha Robertson, D-Dryden, said she thought approving the deal would set "a terrible precedent," to big-box developers and to other town and village officials who might try to develop similar arrangements.

Cogan, Baum, and county legislator Nathan Shinagawa, D-Ithaca, agreed to serve on a sub-committee to go over specifics with the developers. The topic is tentatively scheduled to come back to the IDA at its next meeting, 4 p.m. Nov. 5.


Here's the link: http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...380/-1/ARCHIVE
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  #1271  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2010, 4:00 PM
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Another feather in Cornell's cap. From the Ithaca Journal:


The New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory building, located at the northeast corner of the Cornell University campus, was formally opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday afternoon. (SIMON WHEELER / Staff Photo)


N.Y. and Cornell open diagnostic veterinary lab
Facility will enable diagnosis, assessment of common and exotic animal diseases
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • October 1, 2010, 6:45 pm

The just-opened New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory on the Cornell University campus will help protect the state's food supply and its citizens' public health, state and university officials said at the laboratory's grand opening Friday afternoon.

Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine has served the state for almost a century by helping to diagnose and prevent disease among animals, particularly in the dairy industry, but the new $70 million facility on Farrier Drive will strengthen the university's ability to research and respond to outbreaks of some of the world's most dangerous diseases, officials said.

Patrick Hooker, commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, said the disease-prevention work done by Cornell researchers provides "hundreds of millions (to) billions of dollars of benefit to human health."

"If you think about how easy it is to blow out a match. And then how easy is it to put out a campfire? And how easy is it to put out a forest fire? That is the same thing that we face" in disease prevention, Hooker said. "I submit that with the collaboration that we have, we can keep these terrible human health and disease outbreaks to a minimum."

Executive Director Bruce Akey said the laboratory, which took seven years of planning and construction to bring to reality, triples Cornell's ability to study high-risk diseases classified as Biosafety Level 3. Diseases in this category include West Nile virus, mad cow disease, salmonella, and SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, a form of pneumonia. The highest level is 4, which includes diseases such as Ebola virus, which are not studied in the lab, Akey said.

"We have to have this facility because we never know what's coming through the door," Akey said. "It sometimes turns out to be something bad, and with these new facilities we can operate on them safely. Safely for ourselves and safely for the environment around us."

Though the lab regularly tests for Mad Cow disease, it's never been found, he said. A closely related disease, chronic wasting disease, was found in deer in 2005, though unlike Mad Cow, chronic wasting disease has not been found to affect humans, Akey said.

The most common work done in the lab is testing for the dairy industry, particularly mastitis and other bacterial and viral diseases that can impact animal health and food safety, Akey said. Some of the more unusual diseases the lab has dealt with are a monkey pox that showed up several years ago and wildlife samples from all over the world, and he said.

"I just signed a permit for a sample from Madagascar to come here," he said.

Of the total $70 million cost, $50 million came from state Ag & Markets and $20 million came from Cornell and other sources, according to a press release from Cornell.

For more information about the facility and the College of Veterinary Medicine, visit ww.vet.cornell.edu.
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  #1272  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2010, 10:13 PM
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Some more info about construction at Cornell (from the Ithaca Journal):



Ralph Feldhake, the technical coordinator in laboratory services, fills student drawers with glassware Tuesday as he gets an organic chemistry teaching lab in the new physical sciences building ready for the spring semester. (SIMON WHEELER / Staff


Faculty: Cornell construction for the better

By Rachel Stern •rstern@gannett.com • October 5, 2010, 7:20 pm

Joel Brock always feared the worst. Working more than 60 hours a week in a Cornell University laboratory, Brock, a professor of applied and engineering physics, knew an accident could happen at any time.

And he also knew the labs, built in the 1960s, were not ready for a mishap.

"There were certainly reliability problems," said Brock, who has been at Cornell for 21 years. "If there is an emergency, you would like to run through the lab and push the door open. In the old labs, the door pulled open."

In the new physical sciences building, set to officially open Nov. 18, the doors push open into a miniature vestibule to avoid hitting people in the hallway. The labs are bigger, cleaner, safer and, he added, prettier.

"Oh, gosh, it is so much nicer," Brock said. "We basically moved into a beautiful new lab from an old, crowded, dirty lab."

The $143 million project broke ground in 2008 and consists of 197,000 square feet. The basement, ground and first floors are occupied now, with construction ongoing on the second, third and fourth floors, facilities Director Todd Pfeiffer said.

The basement is mainly research labs, Pfeiffer said. The first floor is teaching labs for the three departments and a 120-student amphitheater. But the atrium, still under construction, is the highlight.

"It is my favorite part," Pfeiffer said. "It will be a central point for students and faculty to meet and gather. There will be a cafe and lots of study spots along the sides."

While this project is a perfect recruiting tool, said Brock, there is another mission.

"Accidental meetings and run-ins with colleagues in a different department," he said, "can lead to valuable collaboration."

The physical sciences building is not the only construction going on at Cornell. The College of Architecture, Art and Planning is getting a 47,000 square-foot addition. Construction on Paul Milstein Hall, a $52 million project, will be complete in August, said Aaron Goldweber, the college's director of communications.

Concrete was poured for the roof, skylights are complete and exterior glass was installed. The ground floor will be used for an auditorium, critique space and a gallery. The first floor will be used for studio space.

The project, which started in June 2009, is beyond the halfway point, Goldweber said, and will connect Sibley and Rand Halls.

"We are trying to create a mini-campus for AAP," he said. "The key part is connecting with existing buildings."



Here's a photo tour of some of the projects (from Simon Wheeler):

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...0050803&Ref=PH
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  #1273  
Old Posted Oct 12, 2010, 2:52 PM
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The increase in height makes sense to me. The buildings across the street (Gateway Center) are 6 stories, and the transition area is above the area to be rezoned (sloping up East Hill). Of course this will probably be a long drawn out process, but I do hope it passes. From the Ithaca Journal:



Ithaca considers zoning change for Challenge site
Allowable height would rise from 40' to 60'
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • October 11, 2010, 6:20 pm

Ithaca's Planning Department is recommending a change to zoning at the former Challenge Industries site on East State/Martin Luther King Street, in hopes of spurring the same kind of high-density redevelopment seen across the street at the Gateway projects.

The roughly one-acre area at the intersection of State and Seneca Way, which includes the old Challenge building and True Insurance, is currently zoned B-4 commercial, which allows buildings of a maximum 40 feet and four stories. The planning department has recommended to Common Council's planning committee that the zoning be upped to CBD-60, which allows 60-foot-high buildings.

The city made a similar change across the street in 2002, and the Wilcox Press building was then re-developed into the Gateway Plaza and Gateway Commons Apartments. As the Challenge building is now up for sale, and there are a "limited number of developable sites in downtown, staff feels that it is appropriate to consider the best zoning designation for this property in the event it is sold and redeveloped," City Planner Jennifer Kusznir wrote in a memo to the planning committee.

The committee is scheduled to consider the recommendation at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in City Hall, 108 E. Green St.

The elected Common Council is responsible for voting on zoning law changes through the city, and the appointed Planning Board has to apply the zoning law to individual development projects. The Planning Board weighed in on the Challenge re-zoning idea at a meeting two weeks ago, and board members said they thought the change was too much.

Though the parcels to the south and west do allow 60-foot buildings, the areas to the north and east are residential neighborhoods in the East Hill Historic District, the board noted.

Alderman Eric Rosario, I-2nd, who represents that area on the planning committee, said he also isn't convinced that the re-zoning is a good idea.

"It's really important to protect the edges of our neighborhoods and allow for more graceful transitions to more dense areas," he said. "I'm all for a denser urban core, but I think one of the better ideas out there is that we don't go from an area of relatively low density to very high density, but that we transition."

The Downtown Ithaca Alliance identified the Challenge site as one of the areas with potential for 60-foot re-development and increased downtown density, which has long been a city goal, Kusznir wrote.


Here's the link: http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...Challenge+site


Here's a picture of the area - from the pinkish building at State & Seneca Way to the corner of Seneca Way & Seneca Street.



I would also like to see the block bounded by State/Aurora/Green streets rezoned to permit taller/denser development.
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Last edited by Ex-Ithacan; Oct 12, 2010 at 3:36 PM.
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  #1274  
Old Posted Oct 13, 2010, 10:18 PM
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Good news for a couple of developments. These are located in the Town of Ithaca, just outside the city. I hope Carrowmoor also starts moving forward too.
From the Ithaca Journal:



Holochuck, EcoVillage projects go ahead in IthacaCarrowmoor waiting on town feedback, developer says
By Krisy Gashler •kgashler@gannett.com • October 12, 2010, 8:10 pm

Two development projects on Ithaca's West Hill are moving forward while another is temporarily on hold.

Environmental review for the 106-unit Holochuck Homes subdivision on Route 96 is almost complete, and EcoVillage is one approval away from being able to build a third neighborhood off Route 79.

Meanwhile the proposed 400-unit Carrowmoor project across from EcoVillage is on hold while developer John Rancich waits for response from the town on his traffic study and focuses attention on his Enfield wind farm project.

Holochuck Homes is proposed to be built behind the Museum of the Earth and the Finger Lakes School of Massage. As town planning board members considered the project's environmental review in January, they learned that there were two abandoned dumps on the property associated with the former Odd Fellows nursing home.

They required a supplemental environmental impact statement to assess the dumps and determine how they should be cleaned up.

That review found that there were actually three dumps, containing everything from bedpans and tires to a deposit of fly ash. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has required the developers to dig seven exploratory test pits, to develop a plan to dispose of the materials and to take a surface water sample post-cleanup.

The full EIS for the project is available on the town website and residents can submit comments on it through Friday, Deputy Planning Director Sue Ritter said.

The "Third Residential EcoVillage Experience" received preliminary approval from the planning board last week, Ritter said. The project will add 22 homes and a common house, along with a new village green between the three neighborhoods.

On Carrowmoor, Rancich said he's submitted his traffic study and wants feedback from the town before going ahead with a full EIS. The traffic study cost more than $20,000 and he expects the EIS to cost around $200,000, he said.

"The only objection I've had from a lot of residents was the traffic. So I wanted to get the town's opinion on the results of my traffic study before I spent more money -- I wouldn't like to spend another $200,000 and have them say, 'Well, everything else is fine but the traffic study,'" he said.

Rancich said he's also been giving priority to his wind farm project on Black Oak Road in Enfield.


Here's the link: http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...head+in+Ithaca
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  #1275  
Old Posted Oct 14, 2010, 10:44 PM
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Another source weighs in on the rezoning possibilty (post # 1273 above) in downtown Ithaca. Still kind of confuses me that 6 stories scares people, but 4 stories is OK. From the ithaca Times online:



Ithaca: Proposal to re-zone former Challenge site worries neighbors
Joseph Murtagh
Reporter

A proposal being discussed by the City of Ithaca to rezone the former Challenge Industries site has neighbors worried that the re-zoning could interfere with the historic character of the surrounding area - and wondering why they only found out about the proposed re-zoning by chance.

"I was at home one night with nothing much to do, and I tuned into a committee meeting of Common Council on television, because I was interested in the smoking ban, and there was mention of a proposal to re-zone the Challenge property," said Barbara Lantz, a Seneca Street resident who worries that a large development might infringe upon the historic homes in her neighborhood. "It wasn't part of their published agenda online, and it was just slipped in at the end of the meeting."

Under the proposal put forth by the City's Planning Department, the parcel, which curbs around from Seneca Street to East State Street, and includes both the Challenge and True Insurance buildings, would be re-zoned from its current designation of B-4 commercial, which allows for buildings of 40-feet tall, to CBD-60, which allows for buildings of 60-feet tall. The change is similar to the one that occurred across the street with the Gateway building, and is part of the city's effort to encourage high-density redevelopment in the downtown area.

The Challenge building is currently for sale, and while it doesn't have a purchaser yet, the city regularly considers re-zoning changes when a property goes up for sale, said Joanne Cornish, the City of Ithaca's director of Planning and Development.

"When a piece of property goes up for sale, we always look at it to evaluate it," said Cornish. "What we don't want to happen is for the Challenge building to just sit there empty forever, like Ithaca Gun. It's a prominent location, and we'd like to see something happen with it."

Cornish resisted the idea that the Planning Department is recommending the re-zoning to Common Council with a project already in mind, explaining that it's important to re-zone on the merits of the re-zoning, not on a specific project. She also said that it's by no means a done deal that the re-zoning will take place.

"We're not wedded to this," said Cornish. "We wanted to bring it forward, but if there's negative input from the public, we won't pursue it."

The final say on zoning issues rests with the Common Council, but city boards and committees can make recommendations. At its Sept. 28 meeting, the City Planning Board recommended not to change the zoning, fearing that it would interfere with the redevelopment of the former Unity House next door, which is being renovated into a boutique hotel by a local entrepreneur named Avi Smith.

Smith said he's concerned how a six-story building might impact his project and alter the historic character of the neighborhood.

"I'm concerned that it might block the view from my hotel, and also how a redevelopment of that size would fit with the historic nature of this area," said Smith. "There's a really nice feel to this neighborhood, and I'm not sure how a larger building would affect this. I'm in support of some kind of redevelopment on the Challenge site, but not so much that it would change the look and feel of what's here now."

Councilman Eric Rosario, who represents the 2nd ward on Common Council and serves as vice chair of Common Council's Planning and Economic Development Committee, also expressed reservation about the re-zoning.

"We do believe we need to take advantage of opportunities to increase the density downtown," said Rosario, "but I'm not sure this proposal provides as graceful a transition between the core and the residential areas as one would wish. If we were to go that tall, that's a really big change."

Rosario added that the issue will be discussed at the next meeting of Common Council's Planning and Economic Development committee at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in the Common Council chambers in City Hall, where a public hearing will also take place.

The city is under no legal obligation to inform property owners that a re-zoning is taking place, but nevertheless the city needs to do a better job getting the word out to residents, Rosario said.

"I think it's important that we make sure that people are aware of what's going on when a re-zoning is being considered," said Rosario, adding that the proposal to re-zone should have been made public online. "I've been working with staff to get out a letter, not just to the property owners on the site, but to everyone within 200 feet of the proposed re-zoning."

For Smith and the other neighbors, however, that letter will come too late.

"I keep a close watch on any mail I get from the city, and I saw nothing about this," Smith said. "It caught me totally by surprise."


Here's the link: http://www.ithacatimes.com/main.asp?...06&TM=66523.21
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  #1276  
Old Posted Oct 20, 2010, 12:07 PM
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I grew up 2 blocks from this gorge, and spent many hours of fun and adventure there. I hope the whole trail is finished soon. For any of you visiting the Ithaca area, this is a great hike. Start in Collegetown and end up in downtown.
(Article from the Cornell Daily Sun)



Cascadilla Gorge Trail Partially Reopens


October 19, 2010
By Dan Robbins
Cornell’s Friends of the Gorges, which promotes recreation and safety in the gorges around Cornell and Ithaca, led a sunset hike along the Cascadilla Gorge Trail Monday to mark its path’s partial reopening following its closure in 2008.

The University initially allotted between $250,000 and $500,000 from the trustee-approved capital budget to repair gorge erosion and water overflow from the creek that had pushed hazardous material onto the paths, according to Facility Services’ website. The budget has since expanded to $1.2 million.

Cornell has currently finished rebuilding staircases, resurfacing trails, putting in handrails, and removing safety risks on the lower part of the trail from Treman Triangle — an open green space at Court Street and University Avenue — to the Stewart Avenue Bridge. The department is unsure, however, whether its new budget will be enough to reconstruct the trail’s upper region.

“We’ll make the money go as far as we can,” Todd Bittner, director of natural areas for Cornell Plantations, said. “But you really don’t know the extent of the damage until you actually start work.”

Unforeseen obstacles on the upper trail include a newly formed waterfall under Stewart Avenue that has caused extensive water and ice damage. The University remains confident, nonetheless, that it will finish the project by its original target of next fall.

“It’s really a learn-as-you-go process, but we can apply what we’ve learned from repairing the lower section of the trail to now fixing the upper section,” Bittner said.

The reconstruction team has identified hazardous areas on the upper trail and chosen railing and reinforcements for eroding regions. A consulting engineer specializing in geologic stability will present possible solutions for the waterfall in the coming weeks.

The erosion has also caused Facility Services to repair structures built just last fall. The same is likely to occur in the spring, barring an unusually tame winter. As a result, Bittner said the total cost of reconstructing the trail remains undetermined.

“It’s premature to speculate where we’ll be down the road because it’s such a dynamic system,” he said. “When the trail is safe we’ll open it fully, and that may mean the entire trail is passable even as we still have work to do.”

This uncertainty, however, is not new. The University had to constantly repair the trail since it opened in 1878, according to the Facility Services website.

The ultimate goal for both Friends of the Gorges — which plants trees, goes on biweekly hiking adventures and helps with trail upkeep — and the University is to open access to Cornell’s natural areas.

“One of our three main principles is safety, so it is important we wait until the gorge is safe enough for access,” Sarah Schoenberg ’11, president of Friends of the Gorges, said. “[Cornell] Plantations has been really diligent making sure natural areas are safe if people stay on the trails.”

The group consequently remains optimistic about the trail’s future.

“We have access to so many gorges, plantations and other natural areas that we didn’t miss Cascadilla terribly,” Zach Velcoff ’13, vice president of the group, said. “But it’s still great to have it back.”

Here's the link: http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...tially-reopens
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  #1277  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2010, 4:46 AM
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I'm really amused that you reposted the photo. One of the people in the photo is a very, very good friend of mine from my time at Cornell. She and I still keep in close touch.

Anywho...Ex, you might want to read this, especially as you grow closer to those retirement years. Maybe you can talk the Mrs. into spending your golden years here.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...+Hill+duplexes

Ithaca facility for seniors plans South Hill duplexes

Just months after celebrating the opening of its new adult Special Care Residence, Longview is presenting plans for another project: 11 duplexes of independent senior living northwest of the existing South Hill facility.

In March, Longview staff, residents, and volunteers celebrated the opening of a $4.5 million, 32-unit addition. The project was the second phase of a 20-year-old strategic plan developed by the not-for-profit Longview's Board of Directors, Executive Director Mark Macera said...

(I'm trying to follow the rules and not paste full articles anymore).

Here's a copy of the plans.
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  #1278  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2010, 10:14 PM
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^ Well vis, I might consider a move there (actually my aunt was there for a while a few years back), but I'm sure the wife would prefer to move further south after retirement. Of course since I'm much older than the darn ball & chain....er I mean my bride, I'll have to succumb to her wishes. Who else will help me change my Depends?




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  #1279  
Old Posted Oct 25, 2010, 11:11 PM
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I was wondering about the status of this proposal. Sure hope they can get the financing. Article & pic from the Cornell Daily Sun.



Finances Delay Hotel Ithaca Construction

October 25, 2010
By Patricio Martinez
The plans to construct Hotel Ithaca — a $27 million hotel at the eastern edge of the Commons between East State Street and Aurora — are “pretty much alive,” although currently on hold due to financial constraints, according to project developer Jeffrey Rimland and Phyllisa DeSarno, deputy director of economic development for the city of Ithaca.

The project has been in the works since early 2008 and gained approval from the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board in September of 2009. The new structure will be a 10-story, full-service boutique hotel housing 140 rooms on the site of the historic Ithaca Hotel demolished in the 1960s.

DeSarno and Rimland agreed that the sole reason why the project has yet to break ground is due to a lack of proper financing.

“Although we have met with a lot of banks to find the financing necessary for this project, nothing has materialized from these meetings,” DeSarno said. “Most of the people we have met with said this would be a larger project they would finance in better economic times.”

DeSarno said that the team behind the project has looked for financing from both local and larger banks.

Similarly, Rimland attributed the project’s delay to the country’s financial crisis.

“I don’t need to tell what has happened to our country in the last 24 months,” he said. “Until banking is back on its feet, we cannot do anything about it.”

Rimland explained that the project’s approval at the city level took approximately two years and consisted of almost 30 meetings.

“Nothing has changed since we got the approvals to move forward,” he said.

Still, despite the discouraging financial situation, both DeSarno and Rimland said they remain hopeful about the project’s future.

“We are still in dialogue with the financial institutions that might take on the project,” Rimland said. “It is actually a very viable project for the city.”

According to DeSarno, recent meetings with a financial institution in Rochester appear promising and could allow the project to move forward.

The hotel is designed by Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm headed by Art Gensler ’58, and will be managed by Gemstone Resorts Inter­national.

Architecturally, the development team explained in its proposal to the City Council and Planning Board that the hotel is “designed to both fit in and stand out.” This proposal said designers wanted to use conventional materials, but to implement them with a fresh new scope.

The building’s design, inspired by local geology and rock formation, will be appreciated differently during different parts of the day.

During daytime, developers explained, they wish to accentuate the qualities of the masonry that will clad the structure. In the night, however, the hotel will be perceived in a completely different way because of glass block in its tower, a “retro material” that will glow amid its surroundings.

At its lobby, the hotel will host a restaurant and bar, while open public space will be available at its level adjoining the Commons. The project will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.





Here's the link: http://www.cornelldailysun.com/secti...a-construction
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  #1280  
Old Posted Oct 26, 2010, 10:45 PM
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Not neccessarily a big deal, but it took years and years for Walmart to get into the Ithaca area. From the Ithaca Journal:


Expanded Walmart plans grand opening WednesdayStaff report • October 26, 2010, 12:00 am

Ithaca's Super Walmart will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday.

The remodeled store, at 135 Fairgrounds Memorial Parkway, has added groceries, a pharmacy, and between 135 and 165 new jobs, according to a news release from Walmart.

Though grocery shelves have been stocked for the past few weeks, the store will officially unveil the new expansion to customers at 8 a.m. Wednesday, after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m.

The entire 199,000-square-foot store was remodeled to include energy-efficient technology, such as skylights that reduce energy required to light the store by up to 75 percent, LED lighting that operates 70 percent more efficiently than traditional fluorescent lighting, recycled concrete materials and a floor finish that reduces the need for chemical cleaners, according to Walmart.

The re-design of the logo and color scheme at the store was part of a pilot re-branding of Walmart stores nationwide, company consultants told Ithaca's Planning and Development Board when the board reviewed the plans in fall 2008.

With the renovation, the store will now be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.



Here's the link: http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...ning+Wednesday
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