Maybe the NIMBYs will let this one go through (the last proposal was too tall; 5 stories
). Gotta love the comments at the bottom. Ithacans love to argue, on both ends of the political spectrum.
New hope for Ithaca Gun site
Developer joins city in pursuing factory clean-up, redevelopment
By Krisy Gashler
Journal Staff
ITHACA — The City of Ithaca is taking another shot at redeveloping the former Ithaca Gun site.
If all goes according to plan, the former gun factory will be demolished and replaced with 33 high-end condos and permanent public access to “one of the best locations to observe and enjoy the Ithaca Falls,” said Nels Bohn, director of community development for the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency.
Before anything can be built, however, the site will have to undergo extensive environmental remediation of lead and asbestos contamination — cleanup cost is estimated at $2.4 million — left over from the factory that closed in the 1980s.
To that end, the city is considering applying for two state grants to cover the cost of environmental cleanup: Restore NY to remediate and demolish the building, and the Environmental Restoration Program to remediate sub-surface lead contamination. Previous attempts to redevelop the site have caused “a lot of fits and starts and frustration from neighbors and elements of the city,” Bohn said.
Most recently, that has included a 160-unit site and an 80-unit site, which neighbors decried as much too big.
“We've looked at projects that had to be pretty large scale to cover cleanup costs and be financially viable,” Bohn said. “With the assistance of Restore NY, we think we can accomplish cleanup, restore access to the falls, and develop a project that is in-scale with the rest of the neighborhood.”
The contaminated site was purchased by Fall Creek Redevelopment, LLC, in November 2005. For this project, the owners have teamed with Ithaca developers Travis & Travis, HOLT architects, and landscape architects Trowbridge and Wolf — the same team responsible for the downtown Gateway project.
Frost Travis said he's had his eye on Gun Hill ever since he moved back to Ithaca in March of this year.
“I had been walking my dogs every day in Cass Park for two months when we first moved to town, and I'd look across the valley up at Gun Hill and say, ‘Somebody ought to do something,'” he said.
Travis said current plans call for 33 condos, split into five separate blocks of townhouses.
“It wouldn't just be this monolith,” he said.
Previous, defeated development concepts called for rental units rather than owner-occupied units. The current development calls for 100 percent for-sale units at “market-rate” — $300,000 to $400,000 per unit.
“The advantage is to attract stable residents who want to remain in place,” Bohn said. “They have an ownership interest in the house and the surrounding neighborhood.”
They would also pay city and school taxes, Bohn said.
Another concern raised by residents over previous plans was the issue of height. The 160-unit proposal, for example was going to be five stories.
Travis said his team's development proposal will be no higher than the current factory, and will not obstruct neighbors' views of the lake or the gorge.
Plans also call for creating a public walkway from Lake Street to the gorge overlook, which is currently inaccessible to the public.
The owners have even agreed to gift the overlook to the city of Ithaca.
All of these plans, though, are dependent upon Ithaca's Common Council applying for, and receiving, the two separate grants.
The city applied for a Restore NY grant last year, the first year it was offered, to renovate the Greater Ithaca Activities Center building and to remediate and demolish the Ithaca Gun site. They did not receive the funding, but Bohn said state funders told him unofficially that the Ithaca Gun proposal had promise and was fundable.
GIAC restoration would no longer qualify for a Restore NY grant because the program disqualifies projects that are municipally owned.
Last year the state offered $50 million through Restore NY; this year $100 million is available.
“There's a lot of ways for this to go wrong and only one way for it to go right,” Travis said. Even so, the developers believe the project is “achievable.”
Common Council's Planning and Economic Development committee will host a public hearing on whether the city should apply for the Restore NY grant at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall, 108 E. Green St.
kgashler@ithacajournal.com
Originally published August 21, 2007
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Here's the Ithaca real estate rule book:
If you price it for higher-end, people say you're an elitist snob.
If you price it lower-end, Ithacans will accuse you of making a slum or a ghetto.
If you make it middle-rung, Ithacans accuse your project of
-being ungreen
-being too tall
-being too suburban
-being out of character (mostly from the left)
-having no repsect for previous residents (usually from the right)
-being government funded
-being private, i.e. selfish
-disregarding the local way of life, i.e. bitching to the grave
-being unattractive
-not jumping through the fifty loops it takes something to get built here
-not bribing the city, county town or village with enough money
-marketing to students
-being a pawn to Cornell or IC
-not doing enough for "them (apparently, a private developer must serve the cvommon good---in fantasyland, maybe)
-being a conservative
-being a liberal
-being a whiner when you complain about the behavior of people of Ithaca.
-when you quit because you can't please people, they blame it on the city, colleges, county, economy, region, the left, the right, the weather, hippies, rednecks, God...but never a word of blame on themselves.
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 4:27 pm
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Maybe some of the nea-sayers should look into current real estate market prices. $300K-$400K, althought a hefty price tag is not out in left field for new condos. And the buyer will have almost a guaranteed supply of students ready and waiting to snap up rental of the condos. It sounds like a good thing actually and the city has a right to build higher priced housing every bit as much as it does lower priced (projects) housing. Why should new housing in the city all be for the low lifes? Heh, they could rent one of these newly built units and pay for it with their public assistance! Frankly ANY new construction on top of that hill is far superior to what is there now. a toxic dump. Let the bulldozers roll!!!
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:08 pm
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Will Travis "remediate" - what a euphemism! - the site's presumed toxicity with HIS own money?
Or will we taxpayers do that for him so that he can pour a foundation for his new BANK?
Rhetorical question.
But, I suppose we'll get remunerated with the taxes the residents of the new building will pay.
La, la, la, la, la!! All is well ... the same, that is ... in Tinytown.
LoyalOpposition
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:54 am
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YAY! Even more outrageously priced housing!! I can hardly wait for move in day!
$300,000 - $400,000 COME ON!?!! I think we should change our bumper sticker(s) to read: ITHACA GORGES ON HOUSING PRICES.
*sigh*
Affordable housing? WHERE?
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:24 am
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As for Ithacan's comments, do you really think that average people are gonna want to live in a former toxic site, or that being that close to fraternity row they are gonna want to deal with the nonsense from that type of student?
Ithaca your rant is a bit of a long winded nothing, at least we know these will be filled with students and will add a parcel to the tax roles.
Maybe you need to start turning that venom you spew towards the city and cornell as it is their fault taxes are so high that you will not see ANY of what you consider affordable housing here in the city. Ask anyone wh pays taxes on property here about that one.
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:53 am
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