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  #1701  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2014, 1:40 PM
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Awful accident yesterday in downtown Ithaca leaves one dead and at least seven injured.

Video Link



A video of the truck being removed from the building last night.

Video Link



Thank goodness the accident didn't happen on a day like this or the death toll would have been much higher:




My heart goes out to all those involved.
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  #1702  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2014, 3:50 PM
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Word's still out and whether or not the Griffin Block can be partially saved. The extent of the destruction to the south (front) section was complete, but the north section could be salvageable. The injuries and fatality are absolutely awful, and if this had been a couple hours later during dinner rush, the results would have been catastrophic.

I've heard some quote from Mayor Myrick floating around that he'd like to see the building restored, and the market would certainly support it, but it's the owner's call. I checked with Jason at IB, the owner is a local firm, Shen Properties, associated with the folks that own the downtown Ithaca law firm Miller Mayer. Whatever the case, it will be months if not years before any reconstruction or new build is complete.
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  #1703  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2014, 5:34 PM
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^After seeing some of the pictures today, if it can be saved or not, it's going to be a long time before that corner is as vibrant again. If structurally possible, I would like to see a restoration, but the cost may be prohibitive.

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  #1704  
Old Posted Jun 26, 2014, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan View Post
Awful accident yesterday in downtown Ithaca leaves one dead and at least seven injured.

Video Link



A video of the truck being removed from the building last night.

Video Link



Thank goodness the accident didn't happen on a day like this or the death toll would have been much higher:




My heart goes out to all those involved.
Same here and what is crazy is that there was a similar incident that occurred in 1999, according to news reports. Hopefully, they can rebuild sooner rather than later.
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  #1705  
Old Posted Jun 27, 2014, 11:22 PM
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^ To make the loss even more unbearable, the young women who was killed was pregnant.
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  #1706  
Old Posted Jul 3, 2014, 6:16 PM
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Here's a vid of Ithaca's mayor. I wonder if this could start a trend for other mayors?

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  #1707  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2014, 3:32 PM
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Ithaca has more than just college students (from the Ithaca Journal):


The 50 unit Breckenridge Place apartments, 100 W. Seneca St., Ithaca, were filled within three months after the building opened. Though not specifically made for seniors, 60 percent of the building's inhabitants are 50 or over. / FILE PHOTO

Seniors seek golden years in Ithaca area

11:14 AM, Jul 8, 2014
Written by
Andrew Casler

ITHACA — It took three months to fill 50 apartments after Breckenridge Place opened in March, and 60 percent of the tenants are over 50 years old.

“Half of those, 30 percent, are over the age of 60,” Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services Senior Real Estate Director Joe Boues said.

The building wasn’t specifically designed for seniors, he added. “I think that’s a good indication of how strong the demand is.”

Many Tompkins County seniors would like to find low-maintenance housing options in the city or town of Ithaca during the next five years, according to survey results released Monday.

The Tompkins County Office for the Aging survey was conducted from April to May, and 331 responses were collected.

There are 17,371 Tompkins County residents who are over 60, according to 2012 census data. The average respondent was 67 years old.

Tompkins County Office for the Aging Director Lisa Holmes said she’s hoping the survey will be used by builders and developers to meet the needs of an aging population.

“I’m pleased to have the results to share with our community so that we can be thoughtful as we plan for this burgeoning, aging population,” Holmes said.

Of the respondents who said they were interested in moving, 49 percent planned on moving in the next one to five years; 31 percent said they would move in the next five to 10 years; and 20 percent said they would move during the next 10 to 15 years.

Respondents’ top reason for moving is to reduce maintenance and upkeep, and downsizing, according to the survey results.

The majority of respondents, 58 percent, sought two bedrooms; 25 percent sought one bedroom.

When asked what type of housing they would want to move into, 24 percent of respondents said they wanted a senior housing complex, 20 percent sought condominiums, and 20 percent wanted apartments.

The top three most important factors related to a future home were affordable cost, single-floor design and easy access to public transportation, according to the survey. A sense of community, energy efficiency, and closeness to grocery and drug stores were next in importance and nearly equivalent in rating average.

“The individuals who we work with, maintaining a sense of community, and often an intergenerational setting is desired, so they’re not socially isolated,” Holmes added. “Proximity to grocery and drug stores, that ease of access to services (gains importance) as their mobility may be limited.”

Ninety percent of the people taking the survey said they planned to stay in Tompkins County when they move.

Of the respondents who said they were planning to move, 57 percent planned to live within the City of Ithaca, and 19 percent said they would move to the Town of Ithaca.

It isn’t a surprise that a majority of seniors favor the Ithaca area, Boues said. He pointed to shopping, public transit and activities in Ithaca.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...rs-Ithaca-area
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  #1708  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2014, 3:41 PM
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Another step closer to the biggest project the city has seen in years (if ever), from the Journal:
(related posts are #1644 & #1657)



Ithaca Common Council adopted legislation Wednesday allowing the creation of special unit zoning districts in industrial areas of the city, such as on the former Emerson Power Transmission complex on South Hill, shown in this 2010 aerial photo. A developer wants to turn the 95-acre site into a mix of housing, retail, recreational space and light manufacturing but would be hampered by current industrial zoning. / File Photo



Ithaca adopts unit zoning district capability

Planned unit developments allowed only in industrial zones


4:26 PM, Jul 7, 2014
Written by
David Hill



Ithaca Common Council has approved the creation of special zoning units that could be created one at a time for mixed-use developments in industrial zones, a change that may help redevelop the former Emerson Power Transmission factory on South Hill.

The unanimous 10-0 vote Wednesday amends the city’s zoning ordinance to allow for planned unit zones. Such zones, common among many other localities, are intended to have their own specially agreed-upon development regulations rather than the standard rules of traditional zones such as residential, commercial and industrial. Rather than classify whole portions of the city for residential, commercial or industrial uses, it allows a piece of land to be treated as a unit apart from the underlying zoning

The goal is more flexibility in large projects, each one considered on its own and adopted only if deemed beneficial to the city and residents.

The measure adopted does not create any such districts, but merely allows their creation at Common Council’s approval after review by city staff and Planning and Development Board.

The action was largely prompted by plans by a developer to turn the 95-acre Emerson Power Transmission site on South Hill into a mixed-use complex with apartments, retail, offices, small-business incubator and flexible space, and perhaps light manufacturing. The site straddles the city-Town of Ithaca line and in the city portion is zoned industrial, which does not allow housing.

The plan is called the Chain Works District for its former life primarily making chains for cars and trucks and later just industrial machines, and is led by David Lubin, an Elmira-area developer. City officials are enthusiastic about it, because the former century-old former factory is Tompkins County’s largest empty industrial site, the main building looming over the city.

Without the capability to have the project reviewed as a planned-unit development, multiple rezoning requests or variances would be needed.

“Were really planning a new neighborhood,” said Scott Whitham, the Ithaca who is leading the planning and government approvals process for the Chain Works team. “It’s really a rethinking of a major area of the city, and so the PUD is the perfect tool for that rethinking.”

The ordinance does not specify any particular spots for using the special unit zoning capability other than limiting them to industrial zones. The city’s other major industrial zones are the Cherry Street and Carpenter business parks.

Early drafts of the ordinance were amended to specify that the PUD zones could be used only in industrial zones after some residents raised concerns that they could be used by developers to get around existing zoning.

The ordinance also lays out a process and application form that developers seeking the designation would have to follow. Landowners, or developers with owner’s acknowledgment letters for property a developer wants to buy, will be able to apply for PUD status for a piece of property or combination of lots. The ordinance says no land owner has a right to have a PUD on his or her property.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...ict-capability
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Last edited by Ex-Ithacan; Jul 8, 2014 at 3:52 PM.
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  #1709  
Old Posted Jul 12, 2014, 10:03 PM
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The Dalai Lama will have a new place to stay when he visits the US again. The construction on the Namgyal Institute of Buddhist Study’s new monastery is well under way and progressing nicely. Here's an article which includes plenty-o-pictures (from the Ithaca Journal):

Buddhist Monastery rises on Ithaca's South Hill
Facility expands with community space; quarters under construction for monks, Dalai Lama


Here's the link:
http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...a-s-South-Hill



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  #1710  
Old Posted Jul 15, 2014, 1:54 AM
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Nice little bit of history:

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  #1711  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2014, 10:33 PM
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A brief entry from Visiteur's Ithacating blog which updates some of the proposed projects:

http://brancra.wordpress.com/2014/07...the-materials/
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  #1712  
Old Posted Jul 20, 2014, 7:40 PM
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I know "Best Places...." lists shouldn't be taken too seriously. I guess some in Ithaca feel they have contributed to all the changes making the city less like the Ithaca they fell in love with. Anyway here's an opinion piece from Ithaca.com.

Best Place Ever

Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 1:36 pm

We don’t really care what silly award Ithaca has won this time. It all seemed to start with that Utne Reader thing a million years ago and then it just snow balled.
It is pretty obvious at this point that every online travel, business, sports equipment, and bong selling site on the Internet is now creating a “Best Place to ...” list that does little more than draw attention to what ever it is they’re selling. The places listed are very much beside the point.
It seems pretty unlikely that the methodologies of most of these listmakers would hold up under scrutiny. It would probably end up as being either grabbing names out of a hat or something as hilariously byzantine as how the state calculates what kind of aid to give a school district.
Being called the “best place to ...” is a distraction and is actually a contradiction in the whole pride in being “centrally isolated” thing. Ithaca, before the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle was a truly isolated place and that is what made it a sort of magic kingdom. The geographical isolation is still there—still no four lane highways in sight—but the cultural isolation has vanished.
We are now filled with franchises, and they are just getting thicker on the ground by the month. Whereas once Ithacans stood fast against having Pyramid build a mall here (hence its location in Lansing and the invention of the “village of Lansing”) and protested the coming of Walmart, now if seems to welcome whatever new box store or fast-food joint decides to plant its flag. (Denny’s is the latest, if you aren’t up to speed here.)
Collegetown, of course, has changed from a quaint, rustic place with storefronts tacked on to the front of a big old house to a high-rise nightmare where people think they can start “high end” nightclubs to cater to the college crowd. That’s a long way from the Chariot.
You are told over and over, “Well, that’s what the students want.” If this is true, then I guess their Gen X parents are to blame? This must be what growing up in the Reagan era does to you. It makes you hover protectively over your children because the media has convinced you that the world is a dangerous place. Then as soon as you send them out the door they take up binge drinking and extreme sports and never want to go anywhere or eat anything where there aren’t familar logos in sight.
Are these the people who read “Best place to ...” lists and not only believe them, but adjust their travel plans accordingly? If that is the case, then perhaps there is no point in hoping that these new lists will stop appearing. They will just keep coming until the demographic that responds to them ages out of the marketplace. •

Here's the link:

http://www.ithaca.com/opinion/best-p...9bb2963f4.html
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  #1713  
Old Posted Jul 20, 2014, 7:51 PM
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A short promo video,

Video Link
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  #1714  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2014, 8:33 PM
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A brief entry from Visiteur's Ithacating blog which updates some of the proposed projects:

http://brancra.wordpress.com/2014/07...the-materials/
Again, those are some nice projects coming down the road. I wish Syracuse could get Travis Hyde to do something similar up here or even in one of the villages up here like Liverpool, which would be a good fit.
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  #1715  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2014, 9:05 PM
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ckh,

I too wish Syracuse had such a devoted citizen/developer. Maybe there is someone like that up there, and it's funding issues. I know funding has not been easy over the last few years,but that may be changing now.
Syracuse has plenty of great old buildings that would be perfect for renovation. I did run across this possible project for the old Hotel Syracuse building (though there were many previous plans):
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s..._syracuse.html
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  #1716  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2014, 12:27 AM
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ckh,

I too wish Syracuse had such a devoted citizen/developer. Maybe there is someone like that up there, and it's funding issues. I know funding has not been easy over the last few years,but that may be changing now.
Syracuse has plenty of great old buildings that would be perfect for renovation. I did run across this possible project for the old Hotel Syracuse building (though there were many previous plans):
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s..._syracuse.html
Yes, there are some plans for many buildings in the city, but it does seem like there are some funding issues or they just stay in the planning stage. Some projects have gone through, but I wish the others would go through at a faster rate.
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  #1717  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2014, 3:49 PM
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Much Ado?

This would be a nice addition downtown. Sounds unlikely in Collegetown, however. I'm looking forward to John Schroeder's book.

Jeff's Stein's article in The Ithaca Voice:

http://ithacavoice.com/2014/07/jason...-height-limit/


Jason Fane proposes 12-story Collegetown building that would be twice the current height limit

By: Jeff Stein | 9 hours ago


Ithaca, N.Y. — Mega-developer Jason Fane proposed a 12-story building in Collegetown Tuesday night that would be twice the current height limit for that site.

City officials met the idea with skepticism.

“I really don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of this passing,” said JoAnn Cornish, a member of Ithaca’s planning and development board. “To be honest, it’s going to be a really tough sell.”

Fane appeared in person at a marathon six-and-a-half hour planning board meeting last night that also saw a heated discussion over a controversial affordable housing proposal for Spencer Road.



Fane’s proposal — if passed — would add housing at 330 College Ave., which is by the heavily trafficked intersection of College Avenue and Dryden Avenue. It’s the site of the now-defunct Green Café.

“330 College is the premier corner in Collegetown and as such should have an iconic building,” Fane said, according to prepared notes given to a reporter after he spoke.

“I instructed the architect, Jagat Sharma, to plan a dramatic and beautiful building that would have the economies of scale so I could spend the extra money to create an icon that would stand head and shoulders above the others.”

Fane shed some light on why 330 College Ave. has sat empty since February 2012. Many officials have openly questioned why Fane would keep such valuable property vacant for so long after Green Café’s closing.

“When that tenant failed, I had to decide whether to keep the store vacant so it could be developed or to give a long lease, so I could get a strong tenant,” Fane said.

“In keeping with my original plan, I have held it vacant as a development site and gambled that a favorable zoning law would be passed.”

Now, with the city approving new Collegetown development guidelines, Fane said he wants to turn the site into additional housing units. (Fane owns $38 million in Collegetown real estate, according to an analysis in 2013 conducted by The Cornell Daily Sun. He declined to be interviewed after the meeting.)

City officials expressed high praise for the architectural beauty of the rendering, which was done by Jagat Sharma.

“This is really your best work,” said John Schroeder, a planning board member, to Sharma.

But Schroeder also had some major problems with the proposal. In particular, he pointed out that the rendering displayed by Fane in fact would be impossible to view from any point. (The rendering is shown from a perspective that appears to be across the street, but would actually be behind the building across the street.)

“This is a fictional view,” Schroeder said, gesturing up at the screen showing the design. “You would never see this building from this vantage point.”

Sharma, the architect joked in response, “You would have to come to this meeting to see it.”

Schroeder had a quip in response, too.

“It is your best design,” he said, “I will publish it in my ‘Unbuilt Ithaca’ book.”
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  #1718  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2014, 9:41 PM
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Quote:
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This would be a nice addition downtown. Sounds unlikely in Collegetown, however. I'm looking forward to John Schroeder's book.
“I will publish it in my ‘Unbuilt Ithaca’ book.”
LOL about the book.

I'd love to see this building go up on the Southeast corner of Aurora & State, the Trebloc block. It would make for a dramatic entrance to downtown from South Hill.
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  #1719  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2014, 9:46 PM
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A short video from Photography 4D's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photo...57437457645927 with a quick tour of the Ithaca College campus and a brief shot of the city:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater
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  #1720  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2014, 10:14 PM
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Here's a real estate video for a house in Ithaca. I'm not an agent, but there are some great views of the area @ 0:17 to 0:45. What the heck:

Video Link


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