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  #1401  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2011, 10:21 PM
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Not sure how many head shops Ithaca can support, but I guess it's better than an empty storefront.
From the Cornell Daily Sun:




Smokers Choice, a new headshop set to open in Collegetown next week, will sell products for smoking tobacco.
Fiona Modrak
New Collegetown Store Will Sell Paraphernalia for Smokers

DECEMBER 1, 2011
BY LAURA SHEPARD


Collegetown smoking enthusiasts will soon have a local venue for buying paraphernalia when Smokers Choice opens at 121 Dryden Road in Collegetown early next week.

Merchandise includes rolled cigarettes, cigars, hookah, sheesha, handblown glass and tobacco accessories, such as hand pipes, water pipes and humidors. The front counter is stocked with Pineapple Express and Twisted Dreamz herbal incenses.

“We sell a lot of things kids really like,” Anna Nozkowski, a store employee said. “We’re back in the 70s, so a lot of stuff is back,” she said, referring to tie dye, bead curtains and neon light posters available for purchase.

The store sells a variety of colorful glasswork. “It’s really beautiful. I don’t care what people use it for — the work that goes into one piece, it’s art,” Nozkowski said.

According to Nozkowski, $1.50 “roll your own” cigarettes are one of the store’s most popular and profitable items, which she attributes to the high cost of generic cigarettes that sell for more than $8 per pack. “Roll your own is where it’s at right now,” she said.

The store is part of a chain of 44 stores located throughout upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. All of the stores are run and owned by Darren Schwartz and Douglas Nolan of Sullivan County.

“Customers come first,” Nozkowski said. “The boss wanted it to be convenient, in a nice area.”

Smokers Choice opened a store in Syracuse in October and another is scheduled to open in Cortland in two weeks. “We try to hit almost every town,” Nozkowski said. “A lot of kids told us to open up in Ithaca.”

Ithaca is already a destination for smokers throughout the region, as there are eight smoke shops on the Commons.

David Pargh, an employee at 3-D Light, a smoke shop that opened more than 20 years ago on the Commons, said there are positive and negative aspects to the proliferation of smoke shops in Ithaca.

“It hurts less than you think having so many of the same thing next to each other competing,” he said, citing variation in products and prices.

An Excape employee, who goes by Whisper, predicted that the Smokers Choice’s opening in Collegetown would not affect business.

“People scope out other shops and come back to us. People appreciate that we have a lot of independent artists. When people want to find unique [items], they come here,” Whisper said.

Cornell students expressed mixed feelings about Smokers Choice opening on Dryden Road.

“Right now, if students want to buy paraphernalia, they just have to go to the Commons. It’s not that far. [The store] won’t change the culture, just the convenience,” Chris Wang ’14 said.

Ben Wainberg ’14 agreed, saying that he does not think that the store will negatively impact Collegetown.

“I think it fits in well with college students’ lifestyles and the overall Ithaca vibe that is kind of hippy-ish,” Wainberg said. “A lot of my friends will definitely go there.”

While Wainberg did not expect any community disturbances, Jenny Molinda ’12 cited concerns about ventilation. “I live in the building next door … I don’t want that wafting up to my window,” she said.

Other students said that they would prefer to have other types of businesses open in Collegetown.

“I think it’s going to promote an unhealthy behavior that is already too prevalent on campus,” Colleen Taggart ’13 said. “I would like to see more of the open spaces in Collegetown go to businesses that promote a healthy lifestyle.”


Here's the link:
http://www.cornelldailysun.com/secti...rnalia-smokers
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  #1402  
Old Posted Dec 6, 2011, 10:04 PM
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I generally agree with the letter, I just hope more housing actually occurs. From the ithaca Journal:

Guest Viewpoint: Increased housing is key to future of Commons

5:20 PM, Dec. 2, 2011
Written by
W. Keith Bryant


How to revive and stimulate a moribund downtown Commons and its neighborhood? To paraphrase President Bill Clinton: It's foot-traffic, stupid. But the feet have to live downtown and be interested in an urban lifestyle.

For the Commons and West State Street to thrive, it must build on the urban culture and lifestyle that already exists — its theaters, cinemas, fine restaurants, bars and live music venues, specialty shops, galleries and festivals. Also important is the easy access from downtown (using TCAT) to the rich cultural life provided almost nightly at Ithaca College and Cornell University.

In order to do so, more people interested in an urban lifestyle — single, childless professionals and elderly — must live on or near the Commons. Currently, there is a dearth of housing downtown for such a population. A recent study for the city and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance found downtown vacancy at 0.5 percent (Ithaca Journal, Oct. 7). Not 5 percent but 0.5 percent! The report notes a lack of mid-range housing options and an absence of high-end options.

A vacancy rate so low is a strong signal of demand. Several hundred such rental units and/or condos in the Commons' neighborhood, easily filled given the 0.5 percent vacancy rate, will supply the needed foot-traffic for the Commons and West State Street to thrive.

The Planning and Development Board has approved the apartment/commercial complex to replace the Challenge Industries building. Lack of financing has stalled the final phase of the Cayuga-Green Project, an apartment/condo complex backing on the Cayuga Street garage. Both of these planned complexes will appeal to seekers of an urban lifestyle. Several more are needed.

What needs to happen? First, less attention should be paid to NIMBY and Historic Ithaca concerns. While both are important, neither is all-important.

Second, developers have traditionally been seduced with lowered or delayed property taxes. But we are daily told that uncertainty is the prime reason why financial institutions are stockpiling assets and not lending to otherwise worthy causes. If true, neither lower taxes nor lower interest rates will be effective in stimulating investment.

Uncertainty must be reduced. Local government might guarantee loans to developers willing to invest in downtown rental housing to lessen the unwillingness of lenders to extend credit for downtown development. Guaranteeing loans is much cheaper than tax abatement schemes because loan guarantees will almost certainly not be called given an environment with 0.5 percent vacancy rates. The city could float bonds to supply the needed financing. Tompkins County Area Development already does this but it needs to be more open to downtown rental development.

In short, city planning needs to concentrate on rental housing, be creative, and think beyond tax abatement schemes if The Commons and West State Street are to thrive and grow.

Bryant resides in Ithaca.


Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...future-Commons
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  #1403  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2011, 11:58 PM
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I know these kind of lists are generally kind of lame, but I'll take what I can get. From the Ithaca Journal:

Ithaca tops insurance company's 'most secure places' survey


6:03 PM, Dec. 16, 2011
Written by
Staff report


Ithaca is the most secure place to live in the United States among small towns, according to an insurance company's annual survey that considers safety, crime, extreme weather, the environment and the local economy.

Ithaca ranked third in 2010 and in 2007. Its top spot this year is largely due to low rates of unemployment, violent crimes, deaths in vehicle accidents and housing depreciation, according to the Farmers Insurance Group, which sponsored the Farmers Secure Places to Live Survey.

The rankings, compiled by bestplaces.net, considered crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, terrorist threats, environmental hazards, air quality, life expectancy, mortality rates from cancer and motor vehicle accidents, and job loss numbers in 138 U.S. towns with populations under 150,000.

Ithaca was in the small towns category, defined as places of fewer than 150,000 residents. Second was State College, Pa., followed by Bismark, N.D., with Elmira ranking fourth. Pittsburgh was the most secure large metropolitan area, and Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, Wash., was the top mid-size city, of 150,000 to 500,000.

Among upstate New York cities, Binghamton ranked fifth and Utica-Rome 12th in the middle category, while Rochester was second, Syracuse fourth and the Albany area 12th among large areas.


Most secure small towns
The top ten most secure places with fewer than 150,000 residents, according to the eighth annual Farmers Insurance Secure Places To Live survey:

» 1. Ithaca.

» 2. State College, Pa.

» 3. Bismarck, N.D.

» 4. Elmira.

» 5. Corvallis, Ore.

» 6. Logan, Utah.

» 7. Midland, Texas.

» 8. La Crosse, Wis.-Winona, Minn.

» 9. Grand Forks, N.D.-Crookston, Minn.

» 10. Lewiston, Idaho-Clarkston, Wash


Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...xt|FRONTPAGE|p
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  #1404  
Old Posted Dec 20, 2011, 9:11 PM
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So, interesting tidbit of news ---

Looking at the city's planning board agenda for this month, Josh Lower's project for 307 College Avenue (now called "Collegetown Crossings", in keeping with the complete lack of creativity in names for Collegetown projects) is listed in the sketch plans (i.e. opening for discussion). The thing is, I have no idea what to expect.

Originally, the project was to be six stories, with 60 units of housing (110 beds, from a college dorm perspective), with about 8,000 sq ft of retail on the first floor, and a distinct lack of parking, opting for zoning variances and a pedestrian walkway between College and Linden Avenues.

But at the January 2011 meeting, the developer stated that he would reduce the beds to 90-95, tear down two houses adjacent to the development site for 40 spaces of parking, and would do away with the retail space. The board balked at the suggestion and he reverted to his original plan, which they met with favorably, although there are parking concerns (the project as originally proposed has an almighty one parking space, and although this is an area populated by college students that mostly don't have an urgent need for a car, the concern is that the entitled may bring their cars anyway and try to park on neighboring streets).

So almost a year later, this project is back on the agenda, but I dunno if he's attempting to modify it again or if he's secured funding and wants to try and get approvals for the original proposal. More questions than answers at the moment.
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  #1405  
Old Posted Dec 21, 2011, 12:42 PM
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^ Yeah Vis, I'm not convinced this is going to have a desirable ending. As far as retail space with no parking........ won't work imo.


On a different note, While this news seems like a big win for the Ithaca metro, I'm not completely satisfied with Bloomberg's statement "Ithaca isn't closing.".

http://ithaca-cortland.ynn.com/conte...c-tech-campus/
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  #1406  
Old Posted Jan 5, 2012, 12:06 AM
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Every little bit helps (from the Ithaca Journal):

Event offers $500K boost to Ithaca economy
Educators, school workers get week of discounts, parties

6:53 PM, Jan. 2, 2012
Written by
Staff reporter

ITHACA -- Winter Recess, a festival for public school educators, is expected to add a half-million dollars to the economy when it returns to Ithaca, Feb. 17-26.

An economic impact analysis by the Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau showed that the festival generated $487,000 in economic activity in 2011, according to a news release from the bureau. Fred Bonn, bureau director, said the fifth annual event should exceed $500,000 this year.

"We have more businesses involved, we expect greater attendance and the economy is finally on our side," Bonn said in a statement. "We're looking forward to our biggest year yet, which should put us over $500,000 in economic impact."

Winter Recess offers public school employees and their families a week of events, parties and discounts throughout the Ithaca area. More than 200 local businesses and organizations participate, offering discounts on dining, lodging, shopping, spas, wine tasting, entertainment and activities, according to the news release. Organizers said they expect more than 5,000 people to attend this year, following last year's attendance of 4,100 people from 15 states.

New this year is a promotional giveaway that will award a teacher an Apple iPad, along with $1,000 worth of classroom supplies. The giveaway is sponsored by Verizon Wireless, the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education and Staples. The online drawing begins Jan. 9.

Winter Recess is open to pre-K-12 teachers, retired teachers and school district employees. Registration is free. Details and iPad giveaway entry forms are online at IthacaLovesTeachers.com.

"Our community is built on education, so an event that thanks teachers is a natural for us," Bonn said in a statement. "It gives us a chance to acknowledge teachers for all they do and it allows us to show off our community. It's a case where a whole community can 'do good' and do 'well' at the same time."


Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...Ithaca-economy

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  #1407  
Old Posted Jan 5, 2012, 7:24 PM
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Some details regarding some of the downtown development projects:

http://www.ithaca.com/news/article_9...9bb2963f4.html

Ithaca: Development projects expected in 2012
By Dialynn Dwyer reporter@ithacatimes.com

The Women's Community Building and the old Challenge Industries building will be demolished this year to make way for two new housing development projects in downtown Ithaca. The two projects are only a slice of the number of projects that will be worked on in 2012, according to Director of City Planning JoAnn Cornish. A third major housing project - the Collegetown Terrace Apartment project - has already begun along State Street. The fourth major project, the Cayuga Green project, is stalled without financing. But the four different housing projects will potentially add a range of housing to the downtown area, and some will fill the great need in the downtown area for mid-range housing that was discovered by the Danter Study in Oct. 2011.

The project taking place at the Women's Community Building - Breckenridge Apartments - is planned to be a six-story, multi-use building that will add 50 brand new affordable housing units to downtown, which Cornish said are greatly needed and will make a huge difference to the downtown area. The project has been in the works for two years and is expected to take 18 months to complete with demolition beginning in March.

The Seneca Way project to be constructed in place of the Challenge Industries building will also be mixed use building. It will contribute 38 mid-range units. The process for getting approval for the project took about a year since the time the application was submitted, according to Cornish, and with demolition beginning in the spring is expected to take between 18-24 months to complete. The five story project required a height variance among others, which according to Cornish was a controversial issue.

"It's adjacent to the East Hill Historic District, so a lot of neighbors were really concerned about the height. So that slowed it up a little bit," said Cornish.

...

The Collegetown Terrace project, a three-year project already underway, will continue work on phase one of three through 2012. There will 16 buildings constructed total, with 12 being constructed in phase one. The hope, according to Cornish, is to have those first buildings completed for student move in day in the fall as the focus of the project is graduate student housing.


The Cayuga Green project will provide yet another form of housing to the downtown area- luxury, high-end apartments- changing from the developer's original plan to create condominiums when funding could not be secured.

"We've been dealing with this for I think probably at least five years," said Cornish.

The project recently received approval from the city to have mixed use on the first floor of the building, but funding still remains the hang up.

"We've been working with them," said Cornish, "and they feel like they're very close to getting their funding, but of course until that happens it doesn't feel like anything's going on, and we don't bank on it happening until that funding comes through. So that's been in the works for a long time. They have secured a tenant for the ground floor and I know that they're very anxious to start. But again, until we see the funding come through, we're always very cautiously optimistic."

(more in link)
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  #1408  
Old Posted Jan 5, 2012, 11:44 PM
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^ Well, you beat me to the punch again Vis.
I just logged in to post the Ithaca Times article.


I was surprised the section talking about other development didn't mention the Hotel Ithaca project. I'm starting to worry about that one again:

........
There are other non-housing projects that will be underway this year that has Cornish excited.
"Some of the other ones that we'll see that are going to make a huge difference is the hotel work that is going to go on," said Cornish, "One's the Fairfield Inn on Elmira Road - because we get sales tax, we get room tax, we get property tax, and we get jobs. So that's a really good project for the city. The same with the Holiday Inn expansion. While they're not adding a lot of rooms, what they are adding is a conference center which we don't have downtown. We can't have a big conference. So the spinoff effect of having a conference center downtown is huge. That is one of the most exciting things that I think we're going to see happening downtown in a long time."
There is also the continued work on the larger Commons redesign project and the rebuilding of the City's water treatment plant.
The impact of all the different projects on the local economy remained forefront in Cornish's descriptions as an injection of money into the economy from the number of construction jobs and the building materials.
"But there will be jobs post construction," said continued, "There will be maintenance jobs and building manager jobs. Any time that we add jobs to the local economy that's really great too."

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  #1409  
Old Posted Jan 5, 2012, 11:49 PM
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On a different note, another Ithaca Times article is about a new restaurant/lounge to replace Delilah's downtown. From the Ithaca Times:

New venue to open at former Delilah’s location on Cayuga Street
Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 12:00 am
By Dialynn Dwyer reporter@ithacatimes.com

n December 29, 2011, Delilah's on Cayuga which had been open under the name since 2010, closed. Scott and Terrie Miller who bought the building in 2009 will retain ownership of the building, but Justin McGuire and Matt Riis took possession of the space on Jan. 1.
"We looked at a handful of places in downtown," said Riis. "We both have a mutual appreciation for the arts and entertainment, and we saw that it was lacking in the immediate downtown vicinity. We began to put together a business plan in December of last year."
The new venue is to be called ‘Lot 10 Kitchen and Lounge,' simply using the lot number of where the property lies.
"The idea there was really to keep something basic and to reinvent it so it has no associations or connotations of anything that's come before it," Riis explained.
There will be a completely new menu for the venue, a new style in dining, and new service model for the space. But most pointedly different will be the change in management of the upstairs venue.
"Our goal is really to keep the upstairs as a destination for drinking and entertainment and nightlife available for regular hours, six days a week from 5-1," said Riis.
Riis, formally the marketing and events director at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, and McGuire, the former owner of Bella Pizza in Center Ithaca, have been talking about working together on a new business for about a year and a half/two years.
While the whole space will receive that Riis described as a "major facelift," the main dining area will continue to remain on the first floor with the lounge upstairs.
"Our main goal in the upstairs will be to make it a more viable venue," said Riis, "We plan to add a performance area - a dedicated stage. We also look to enhance lighting as well as improved PA system. We spoke with Dan Smalls. We have talked to him extensively about the venue and the issues of the venue and how he would like to see the space run and what we would like to see happen upstairs. So we plan a series of dance hall shows up there, as well as continuing the weekly events that are being programmed there. The Djug Django will stay around. We've also spoken with the Science Cabaret that do a monthly cabaret there- we're going to continue with that. But basically we're going to try to have entertainment multiple nights a week upstairs in a dedicated performance area."
Riis will be taking his marketing and events background cultivated in the past six years and making use of the many contacts he has made throughout town as he handles the local booking. Besides Smalls, the new owners of Lot 10 have also reached out Bob Phroehl of Buffalo Street Books about the possibility of hosting some of the co-op's programming.
While the new owners hope to engage the student population in the nightlife aspect of the new business, there is also a hope to have an eclectic customer base drawn to the different events they hope to hold that range from music, DJ's and dance parties to local theatre and more artistic literary events.
"Our aim is really to have a place that the community as a whole can find a niche and can find a night, or a few nights out of the week where they feel comfortable," said Riis.
The largest challenge the partners faced, according to Riis, was putting together the financing for the project with the city. The process came together in the end of December 2011, after beginning in March of the previous year. Riis said working with the city through the process was a positive process for the partners.
"It was a very beneficial process in that they helped us extensively, not only with actually obtaining the funding necessarily," he explained," but also in working with us and fine tuning our business plan and looking at our financial projections and making sure they're in line with what's currently taking place on the street. So they were a very big help in assisting us."
The business will open in two phases, with the hopeful opening date for the lounge falling sometime in February and the restaurant opening sometime in March or April.
"As far as challenges moving forward it will be mainly about giving the place a new facelift and letting the public know that there are new owners with new ideas and that its going to have a fresh positive spin and it's going to be nothing like what has taken place," said Riis, "Not only in the last two years, but ever since it opened in 2003 as the Lost Dog, our goals will be to remake the entire space and have it be something completely new and different."


Here's the link:
http://www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/ar...9bb2963f4.html

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  #1410  
Old Posted Jan 11, 2012, 7:13 PM
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Update on projects for Ithaca's colleges (from the Ithaca Journal):


Look ahead: Construction continues on Ithaca campuses
Cornell pursues computer sciences facility

7:50 PM, Jan. 8, 2012


An artist's rendering of Gates Hall, a Cornell University computing and information sciences building for which final designs are expected this year. / GRAPHIC PROVIDED


Written by
Rachel Stern


Ithaca -- Several new buildings were unveiled on Tompkins County campuses this past year. And Cornell University and Ithaca College are not done.

Both campuses have a handful of large projects that are scheduled to begin, continue or finish up this year.

At Cornell, final designs for a $60 million computing and information sciences building are expected to be completed early this year. Gates Hall will be across Campus Road from Barton Hall at the site of the Grumman Squash Courts parking lot.

Construction on the building is scheduled to begin in March, with an estimated opening date of 2015. The project will be primarily funded by a $25 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation the university received in 2006.

During his State of the University address in October, Cornell President David Skorton announced that a building devoted to the humanities will be built on the Arts Quad. The building will be the first for the humanities since Goldwin Smith Hall was built in 1905.

The new building is expected to cost $61 million and will be paid for by donations. About 75 percent of the donations have been raised, with the rest expected to come in early this year. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2013 and be finished by the end of 2015.

At Ithaca College, the Circle Apartments expansion project is set to finish up around the end of July. The community building -- which includes a convenience store, bigger fitness area and additional mailboxes -- was completed in October.

The construction of 42 apartments in five new buildings should be done by the end of July, said Rick Couture, vice president for facilities. The 2,500-square-foot expansion will add 168 beds to the apartments, he said.

In addition, the new boathouse project will finish up around the end of July, Couture said. Located across the Cayuga Inlet from the Boatyard Grill restaurant, the building will be used by the men's and women's crew teams. The old building was torn down and the new building will house a workout area for the teams, two offices for the coaches, shower facilities and an atrium.


Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...=2012201080326
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  #1411  
Old Posted Jan 12, 2012, 5:44 PM
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for those with facebook or twitter, the planning department now has a page/feed:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ithacaplanningbd

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ithplanningbd?utm...1742849&ref=nf

So much more convenient to have the link to new agendas and minutes directly linked to their occasional updates, rather than having to dig through the city's website.

According to the latest agenda and last month's minutes, the Collegetown Crossings project is maintaining its car-less proposal, but at 5 floors and 50 units (103 bdrms). Also, the Holiday Inn expansion downtown will be 10 stories and 100' tall. The Johnson Boatyard will be redeveloped into a site with townhomes, and mixed-use buildings in later phases.
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  #1412  
Old Posted Jan 12, 2012, 11:14 PM
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Thanks for the links Vis, makes life easier. Can't wait to see the renderings for the Holiday Inn and Collegetown Crossing projects.
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  #1413  
Old Posted Jan 13, 2012, 4:39 PM
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Another sad day for the old neighborhood. My past is disappearing. This is one of the first places where I enjoyed an adult beverage legally (the drinking age was 18 then). From the Cornell Daily Sun:

The Palms, a Collegetown Fixture Since 1941, Will Close Next Month

January 13, 2012
By Michael Linhorst

The Royal Palm Tavern, one of the most venerated and well-known bars in Collegetown, is set to close on Feb. 29 after almost 71 years in business. The family-owned bar is no longer financially sustainable, largely because of changes in student drinking habits, according to Joe Leonardo, who has owned the bar since he and his brothers took it over from his father and uncle in the early 1980s.

Leonardo said students spend much less time in Collegetown bars now than they did 10 years ago. Although bars are packed late on weekend nights, those crowds are not enough to support the business for the rest of the week, he said.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of ‘Palms o’clock,’ but that’s a business killer right there,” Leonardo said, referring to the phrase students use for the half hour, just before closing, in which young people flock to the Royal Palm. “It’s really tough to make a living on less than three hours a week.”

The Royal Palm, which is commonly known as the Palms, is the third bar in Collegetown to close in less than a year. Dino’s and Johnny O’s both shuttered their doors last summer. Dino’s closed, its management said, because it was unable to renew its lease. Johnny O’s management did not respond to requests for comment last summer, but Leonardo said on Thursday that Johnny O’s faced the same sort of financial difficulties as the Palms did.

The Palms opened in 1941 and was originally owned by Leonardo’s father and uncle. The bar built a fond following among students, who would often return to the Palms again as alumni.

Groups of alumni have already begun organizing trips to Ithaca to visit the bar once more before it closes.

“The Palms has been the Palms for as long as people can remember,” said Chris Mejia ’10, who is one of the alumni planning to return to Ithaca before Feb. 29. “Some of my fondest memories were at the Royal Palm. It’s the place where we celebrated in the good times and drowned our sorrows in the bad.”

But recent graduates are not the only alumni who have memories of the Palms, which has served Cornellians for nearly half the University’s existence.

“Generations of Cornellians have memories of the Palms,” said Corey Earle ’07, an alumni affairs officer and unofficial University historian, “but now it joins other venerable student hangouts of yesteryear like Johnny’s and Zinck’s.”

Leonardo, who plans to move to Florida and escape Ithaca’s winters after the Palms closes, said it is sad to close a business with such history.

The last day “is going to be tough,” he said. “But it’s just not feasible any more.”

The business ran into serious problems over the last decade.

“Less than 10 years ago, kids would come out and start drinking after class … and we’d be busy all afternoon,” he said. “But drinking habits have changed.”

Leonardo said he thinks text messaging is largely responsible for the change in behavior. With texting, students can communicate and coordinate times and places to meet in ways they could not 10 years ago. While many students used to gather in Collegetown bars after class to see friends or plan their evenings, such face-to-face meeting places are no longer necessary.

Changes to Cornell’s homecoming also hurt the Palms’ business, Leonardo said. The University’s football game, which is traditionally a boon to bars and restaurants in Collegetown, was scheduled for the evening in 2011 — a departure from its normal early afternoon kickoff. With the later game and more events on campus, students and alumni spent less time in the Palms than they had in past years, Leonardo said.

“We did about 10 percent of the business that we did last year,” he said.

Still, the bar’s imminent closure came as a surprise to many of its regulars, and even its employees.

“Feb. 29 will be a sad, sad day,” said Colleen Brill ’12, a Palms employee.




Here's the link:
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...ose-next-month




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  #1414  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2012, 10:30 PM
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A bit of a summarry for construction activity (from the Ithaca Journal):



Benderson Development is building a new retail location on Meadow Street that will house a Chipotle Mexican Grill. / SIMON WHEELER / STAFF PHOTO


2012 commercial construction projected announced
Hotel, student housing among plans

10:12 PM, Jan. 15, 2012
Written by
Liz Lawyer

Ithaca -- Downtown Ithaca will grow a little taller, and new housing developments will add density to Ithaca and surrounding communities thanks to projects in the works last year and heading into 2012.

New apartment developments, hotels and academic buildings that received approval from the city last year may begin construction this year, and other projects will begin the process to secure building permits.

Projects proposed or approved in 2011 include:

» Collegetown Terrace, a large student housing project to go up along the southern side of East State Street. The project replaces outdated student housing in subdivided single-family homes with new apartments.

» The Seneca Way building, which includes apartments and office space. The five-story building will replace the former Challenge building on the tuning fork east of The Commons.

» A Fairfield Inn to be constructed in the lot adjoining the Manos Diner on Elmira Road.

» Lansing Reserve, a 65-unit affordable housing development on Dart Drive.

Projects that were under way in 2011 included:

» A BJ's Wholesale Club near the Ithaca Mall. The store will have a soft opening Jan. 21, followed by a grand opening Jan. 28.

» A new building sharing a parking lot with PetSmart and Staples, which will house a Chipotle and another yet-to-be-named business.

David Hart, president of Rochester-based Hart Hotels, has expressed his intention to propose a plan to replace the northern, eastern and southern arms of the Holiday Inn building with a convention center and a second, 10-story tower with a rooftop terrace. The project has just begun the approval process with the city's planning board.

Other development issues include the Collegetown Plan, which was withdrawn after a key ordinance was hung up in Common Council, followed by a lawsuit brought by a Collegetown landlord. The issue has been dormant since the plan was defeated in May.

Rezoning Ithaca's waterfront was another contentious issue, bringing out West End devotees in an 11th-hour bid in October to prevent the zoning from going forward. Opponents said the area would change dramatically and lose its personality under the proposal. However, Common Council approved the changes.

here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...text|FRONTPAGE
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  #1415  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2012, 11:15 PM
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I know the numbers are small, but Ithaca is a small place.

From the Ithaca Journal:

Tompkins airport sets passenger record
2011 shows increase of 1,011 fliers from 2010

6:20 PM, Jan. 17, 2012
Written by
Staff report


Ithaca -- More passengers flew into Tompkins County Regional Airport in 2011 than ever before, with nearly a quarter-million passengers utilizing the facility.

The total of 242,493 passengers represented an increase of 1,011 from 2010, the previous record high year. While 55 fewer passengers flew out of Ithaca than in 2010, the decrease was offset by 1,066 more passengers flying into Ithaca than in the previous year.

The December data showed increasing passenger totals even while available seats remained fairly constant over the previous decade. Load factors, which had a low of 42.5 percent in 2000, have climbed steadily and in 2011, planes were filled to 76.6 percent of capacity. Flights to Detroit were the most crowded at 84.1 percent, followed by Philadelphia at 82.9 percent.

US Airways controlled a bulk of the market share of flights from the airport at 55.1 percent of traffic, followed by Delta at 23 percent and United/Continental at 21.9 percent.


Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...text|FRONTPAGE

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  #1416  
Old Posted Jan 21, 2012, 5:03 PM
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I kind of have mixed feelings about this new building. The Arts Quad is the old heart of the Cornell Campus, and this is too modern for the quad. But the new building will be located on the east side of the Smith building, so it probably won't be visible from the quad itself.
I do like the fact that the University isn't "abandoning" the Ithaca campus since the new New York City campus has been green-lighted.
From the Cornell Chronicle online:




Located between Goldwin Smith Hall and East Avenue, the new humanities building will provide some 33,250 square feet of new space, including a 330-350 seat auditorium, the largest on the Arts Quad.


Jan 20, 2012
Trustees move forward with new humanities building

Located between Goldwin Smith Hall and East Avenue, the new humanities building will provide some 33,250 square feet of new space, including a 330-350 seat auditorium, the largest on the Arts Quad.

By Linda B. Glaser
On Jan. 19, the Buildings and Properties Committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees unanimously approved relaunching the design phase of the new humanities building, the first at Cornell in more than 100 years.

The design process for the building was put on hold in 2008 after the initial schematic designs were produced. Plans now call for completing the design development phase this year, completing the bidding process and groundbreaking in 2013, and finishing construction by December 2015.

"We're thrilled to have the building's construction costs fully funded through philanthropy," said G. Peter Lepage, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We deeply appreciate the amazing generosity of the Cornell families who have made this building possible."

The new building will provide much needed space for the increase in the college's humanities faculty, which is partly a result of the college's success in the faculty renewal hiring initiative, as well as a result of the overall expansion of the humanities at Cornell in the last 100 years. The 66,500-square-foot building will include about 124 modular office-sized spaces that can be used as offices or meeting, conference and seminar rooms.

"Although we've met our initial target, we still need to raise funds for future operations of the building, so those who want to support the project still have opportunities to give," noted Lindsay Ruth, associate dean of alumni affairs and development in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Approval of the humanities building construction couldn't have come at a more welcome time for the local economy, according to David Marsh, president of the Tompkins Cortland Building and Construction Trades Council. "Recession cycles tend to hit the construction industry a little later," he explained, "so we're really feeling it now. We're experiencing higher than normal unemployment levels for our union membership."

That membership numbers some 500 in the Ithaca region, and Marsh anticipates at the peak of construction the humanities building project will employ about 100 of the union's laborers, sheet metal workers, carpenters, painters, masons, electricians and plumbers. "A building like this means a lot to the local economy," said Marsh. "It provides a real boost."

And because the building is planned to be LEED Platinum certified and the LEED certification process gives points for local and regional materials, purchasing will focus as much as possible on local and regional suppliers, said Gary Wilhelm, project director with Cornell Capital Projects and Planning.

Linda B. Glaser is staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.


Here's the link:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/...BldgFunds.html

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  #1417  
Old Posted Jan 21, 2012, 5:12 PM
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Here's a proposed waterfront development in Ithaca which kind of surprises me with its size. Seems ambitious, but I'm not complaining. Of course now comes the approval process. Hope I'm around long enough to see it.

From the Ithaca City Planning and Development Board Meeting Agenda for January 24th, 2012:


E. Pier Road Properties (Johnson Boatyard Site), Jeff Cleveland, Applicant & Owner.   Intent to Declare Lead
Agency. The applicant is proposing to redevelop the 7.8‐acre site currently containing Johnson Boatyard and
four one‐story metal buildings.   The proposed project is mixed‐use housing and commercial/retail with 11
three‐story attached townhouses totaling 62,000 gross SF, 5 five‐story buildings with a total of 130‐150 units
with 230,000 GSF, including 15,000 GSF of ground floor commercial space.    290 parking spaces will be
provided on‐street, in a surface lot fronting Pier Road and ground floor parking in all but one residential
structure.   The site will be accessed from one curbcut on Willow Avenue and two on Pier Road, as well as a
proposed roundabout at the terminus of Pier Road which is partially on City property.   Internal circulation
includes a tree line street extending the length of the project, sidewalks, a plaza, a publicly accessible
waterfront promenade, and a pier along Cascadilla Creek.   The project includes removal and rebuilding of
existing seawall and the retention of 115 boat slips.  Site development will require the demolition of 4 of the
existing buildings, removal of all paving and vegetation, and the possible relocation of NYSEG power lines.  
The project is in the WF‐1 Zoning District.  This is a Type I Action under both the City of Ithaca Environmental
Quality Review Ordinance and the State Environmental Quality Review Act and is subject to environmental
review.    This project potentially requires permits from the Canal Corporation and/or DEC, as well as
coordination with the City to resolve issues with utility easements and make improvements on public property.


Here's the link:

http://www.egovlink.com/public_docum...%20Meeting.pdf

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  #1418  
Old Posted Jan 23, 2012, 9:14 PM
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An ambitious project for my old hood. Looks like it would fit in well with the surroundings, but I think the no parking spaces issue will be a no-go with the City Planning Board. From the Cornell Sun:


Developer Josh Lower’s ’05 plans for a six-story building on College Avenue include the addition of GreenStar, an Ithaca-based grocery store.



GreenStar Grocery Store Plans New Location in Collegetown

Organic food market hopes to open on College Avenue by 2014

January 23, 2012
By Jeff Stein


Ithaca’s GreenStar Natural Foods Market will be the “anchor” of developer Josh Lower’s ’05 ambitious proposal to revive retail in the heart of Collegetown with several street-level storefronts, according to Brandon Kane, general manager of GreenStar.

Although the addition of a new branch must be approved by GreenStar’s board of directors and several municipal agencies, Kane said the organic food market hopes to open its doors at 307 College Ave. by the end of 2013. It will meet an “abundantly clear” demand for a full-time grocery store in Collegetown, Kane said.

In proposing to open a Collegetown branch, GreenStar is not only betting that Cornellians are eager to buy locally-grown produce but also that they are willing to become personally invested in the local economy. Like Buffalo Street Books, GreenStar is run as a cooperative in which store members — many of whom are also customers — have a direct financial stake in the business, Kane said.

“More and more people … are aware of the paramount importance of supporting a vibrant local economy. So whether you are an Ithaca resident for four years or 40, supporting a local co-op, which in turn supports hundreds of local businesses, is the way to go,” Kane said. “I think our student population unquestionably understands this.”

GreenStar could become the centerpiece of Lower’s “Collegetown Crossing” project at 307 College Ave., which the developer owns. Pending approval from the City, Lower plans to demolish the site’s current building and remake the area into a highly trafficked “pedestrian arcade,” filled with storefronts that would connect College and Linden Avenues.

The plan, which will be discussed by the City of Ithaca’s Planning and Development Board on Tuesday, includes the creation of a new six-story building with 103 bedrooms — a project that could fill a perceived demand for more student housing.

Yet Lower is also requesting that the City waive its requirement that Collegetown developers match every two housing units built with the creation of one parking spot.

Lower told The Sun when the building was first proposed that the parking spaces, which must be within 500 feet of the site, were “not practically or financially possible.”

But Common Council member Graham Kerslick (D-4th Ward) said the project could not move forward without the resolution of this issue. He said the dearth of parking is hurting Collegetown businesses and that adding more than 100 new residents without spaces for their cars would only exacerbate the problem.

“You can’t just ignore the [parking requirement]; you can’t force people not to drive,” Kerslick said. “The existing plans don’t call for any provision of parking and that will have to be addressed because, as it stands, it’s a significant issue in Collegetown and a big concern for local residents.”

Still, Kerslick said GreenStar’s interest in expanding to Collegetown was a positive development for the neighborhood.

“Any viable full service grocery store would be a significant improvement to for the whole community,” Kerslick said. “This is not the only option; there are other developers beginning to think of incorporating space for grocery stores in Collegetown — an important recognition that things are beginning to change.”

John Schroeder ’74, a member of the City of Ithaca’s Planning and Development Board, agreed that the development’s potential effect on parking would be a “major issue in the environmental review of the project.”

Yet, like Kerslick, Schroeder said that the new GreenStar could be a boon to a neighborhood that he believes can support a grocery store.

“Many, many people, including myself, have long wanted the return of a full service grocery store in Collegetown,” Schroeder said, noting that a grocery did exist in Collegetown but closed over 20 years ago. “GreenStar, if it came, would go a long way toward bringing that to a reality.”

Some students living in Collegetown said they were elated by the possibility of buying fresh fruits and vegetables from a nearby location.

“It will save me a lot of time,” said Sophie Griswold ’14, who walks to GreenStar’s downtown location two to three times a week. “It’ll be nice to get quality produce without having to schlep all the way down the hill.”

Juliette Miller ’13, an “avid” GreenStar shopper, said she would be overjoyed if the grocery store opened a Collegetown location.

“Oh my god, that would be really amazing,” Miller said. “I hope it happens.”


Heres the link:

http://www.cornelldailysun.com/secti...on-collegetown
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  #1419  
Old Posted Jan 26, 2012, 12:02 PM
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May not be the prettiest rendering, but I hope this project gets the go-ahead asap. From the Ithaca Journal:



A rendering of the proposed new wing of the Holiday Inn showing the tower of rooms at the corner of Clinton Street, left, and Cayuga Street, right, looking northwest. The Cayuga Street parking garage is across the road at the right. / HART HOTELS / GRAPHIC PROVIDED


Hotel owner: Holiday Inn renovation to bring business during Ithaca's off-season

9:53 PM, Jan. 25, 2012
Written by
Liz Lawyer

Ithaca -- An expansion and renovation of the Holiday Inn could mean more midweek business and provide a draw for conventions and other large meetings to downtown during Ithaca's off-season.

David Hart, of Hart Hotels, which owns the downtown Holiday Inn, presented his plan Tuesday to the city planning and development board to demolish the three older wings of the hotel and replace them with a new tower to the south of the existing one and a convention center to the north of it.

Tuesday was the first time the project was presented to the planning board. The board voted unanimously to indicate its intent to declare itself lead agency on the project.

Hart said his company has owned the hotel for 20 years. It opened in 1972, and the tower was added in 1984, so some parts of the building are 40 years old. These older elements -- the one-story guest room wings to the south, west and north of the existing tower -- would be demolished to make way for the new tower and convention center.

The changes would add 15 rooms to the total room count, but would
triple the hotel's capacity for conferences and other group events.

Hart said the changes are important for the hotel's viability.

"I feel like if we don't address some of these older elements of the building, we will die a very slow death, and that's a shame because this is a really a great spot to do this," he said, referring to the plan to add a conference center.

Hart said there is no area downtown with the capacity for midsize meetings, and developing one would bring in business outside of Ithaca's tourism months as well as in the middle of the week, when the
hotel is currently unable to fill its rooms.

The board had questions regarding increased traffic and where tour buses would park under the new plan. Hart said traffic would be little affected because the addition wouldn't add much to the total room count.

Several of the hotel's neighbors spoke in favor of the project but urged the board to be strict in its review of noise, loading zones, traffic and parking impacts.

Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the addition and renovation would be a boon for the downtown economy and the tourism economy.

While the changes would not add much to the hotel's capacity, Bonn said, "We will have something we don't have now: midweek and shoulder-season business."

Several of the hotel's neighbors spoke in favor of the project but urged the board to be strict in its review of noise, loading zones, traffic and parking impacts.

Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the addition and renovation would be a boon for the downtown economy and the tourism economy.

While the changes would not add much to the hotel's capacity, Bonn said, "We will have something we don't have now: midweek and shoulder-season business."

Here's the link:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...sey=nav%7Chead
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Last edited by Ex-Ithacan; Jan 27, 2012 at 12:07 AM.
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  #1420  
Old Posted Jan 26, 2012, 6:09 PM
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I'm glad these are being proposed, but I'm not a huge fan of either the design proposed for the Collegetown Crossing building or the Holiday Inn.

The Crossing building appears to have a largely glass facade on the front, which is a nice contrast to the brick midrises that dominate Collegetown. The massing is a bit overbearing (think 312 College), and I'm not impressed with the lack of detail on the north face (it is very unlikely the old fire station, which is a historic landmark, will be town down, so why not take advantage and add more detail/windows?). I kinda wish the glass facade covered the sides as well.

As for the Holiday Inn, materials will make/break this building. They've gone for the modular 60s look, which can be okay if the materials (esp. the stone veneer) are good quality, terrible otherwise. Also, not a fan of the way it is set back from the street; doesn't seem to encourage urban interaction.

Just my two cents. Or rather, a nickel, thanks to inflation.
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