Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

Project Updates

Planned Parenthood Progress Photos & Geothermal

March 4, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The Planned Parenthood project on Ithaca’s West End has been moving along steadily, as LeChase Construction has installed Dow TUFF-R boards on the exterior, which boosts the overall R-value (resistance to heat flow) of the thermal envelope. Over the boards, pressure-treated wood strips have been fastened to hang the fiber-cement panels that make up the finish layer of most of the facade, which has begun installation along the northern west face. The sections of stone base along the bottom have also been completed, and once the weather gets warmer and more panels have been installed, the windows should follow-up right afterwards.

American Auger & Ditching Company is on site to drill the well field for the vertical loop geothermal system (ground source heat pump), which requires drilling a set of well loops anywhere from 50 to 400 feet deep, depending on system size, soil, heat pump specifications, climate, and other design factors. Heat pumps are a broad term, but it simply means moving heat from one place to another. A closed loop geothermal heat pump system works by circulating refrigerant (or anti-freeze) through the loops, which allows the refrigerant to exchange thermal energy with the ground due to thermal inertia (lag) of the soil at these depths.

The ground temperature is warmer than outside air in the winter, and cooler in the summer, since the thermal energy from the sun and precipitation lessens in effect the deeper (and denser) the soil mass in between, until there’s almost no variation. The refrigerant fluid gains thermal energy (heat) from the ground in the winter, but flowing in-reverse, loses heat in the ground during the summer. Once inside, the heat pump exchanges the energy with a heating system, and/or a cooling system, depending on the season, space, and type of system. Heat pump systems work in conjunction with other devices, typically forced-air HVAC systems (servicing air through return and supply ducts) and hydronic systems (servicing air by circulating water through radiators and baseboards).

In addition to this project, we’ll be seeing Purity Ice Cream installing a geothermal heat pump system as well. The latest updates and a new serving area render are on their Facebook Page.

Design by Chiang O’Brien Architects

Thurston Avenue Apartments Photo Update

March 2, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The RABCO Thurston Avenue Apartments project has shown some progress since mid-February. The ground level Fox Block walls have been filled with concrete, western foundation walls have been assembled, some additional grading work has been completed, and stud walls are beginning to take shape on the northern-most structure (Building C).

As shown on the construction fence sign, G.M. Crisalli Construction out of Syracuse is the general contractor on this project. They’ve managed and constructed a lot of projects, most notably within Ithaca: the Taughannock Boulevard Island Health and Fitness Center. The project is designed by all-local firms: architecture by HOLT Architects, whose recently completed projects include Seneca Way and Breckenridge Place Apartments, landscape plan by Trowbidge Wolf Michaels, and survey work by TG Miller.

339 Elmira Road Independent Hotel Plans

March 1, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Here are a few shots of the plans for developer Jayesh Patel‘s proposed hotel on 339 Elmira Road, in addition to the Holiday Inn Express he’s developing at 371 Elmira Road. His Cheektowaga development firm (Rudra Management and Rosewood Hotels, 24 hotels) also just recently closed on the purchase of the Dunlop Building on Grand Island, between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, for what seems to be a large renovation undertaking to restore the building to new use; it will take $1.8 million just to get the water and sewage infrastructure back in order to begin the process of remediation.

The plans for the 339 Elmira Road project show a total of 37 rooms, 37 parking spaces, four stories, and a gross floor area of 6,468 SF at a cost of $1.7 million on the 0.59 acre site. At about $46,000 per room, this project should be similar to the Holiday Inn Express, which comes in at $39,500 per room (76 room, $3 million project).

Property Assessment

Site Plans

Project Application

Short Environmental Assessment Form

Carey Building VI: Ceiling Demo Done, ACM Removal

February 28, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The plaster ceiling demolition has been completed by Compass Builders, and asbestos-containing material (ACM) remediation began earlier this week, so the space is completely closed-off. There’s about 366 linear feet of pipe-wrap and sections of old 9×9 floor tile being removed on the second floor by Sunstream Corp, out of Binghamton, NY. The supply loop for the radiators runs up from the basement, then around the perimeter of the second floor roughly 12-13 feet off the floor, above where the plaster ceiling hung. The pipe was insulated wherever it was not exposed to finished space, so basically above the ceiling, and within exterior wall chases.

The ACM assessment survey was done by Microbac Laboratories out of Cortland, NY, and they stay on-site during the remediation phase to monitor air quality. Here’s the second floor map, indicating materials found in the survey:

John Snyder Architects is currently working on the details for the final incubator design in collaboration with the team from Cornell University. Here’s the demolition plan, showing all the walls that have been removed from the second floor:

Holiday Inn Express & Another Hotel in the Pipeline

February 27, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The proposed 4-story, 11,769 square foot, 76 room and 76 parking space Holiday Inn Express at 371 Elmira Road had its site plan review postponed for next meeting so that the developer Jay Patel could present and answer questions in-person. In addition to this site, Mr. Patel is also planning another hotel development down the road at 339 Elmira, which was sold at auction this past June, 2013. The same team out of Buffalo, NY, Silvestri Architects and Optima Design & Engineering are working on the proposal. The site previously contained the Salvation Army Store, which moved to its new building down the road in 2009.

Demolition Plan (the Elmira Road commercial frontage has sat mostly vacant for some years, and the building on Spencer Road houses Pete’s small engine repair):

Site Layout Plan:

Rendered Elevations:

Collegetown Terrace February Photo Update

February 26, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The gates were closed, so I didn’t manage any good north-facing shots of Building 6, but here’s a quick photo update for the Collegetown Terrace project. As Ithacating’s Article noted, Building 7 (Phase 3) will be starting shortly (the whopper $70 million bridge loan was approved last August), and Novar-Mackesey has put forward a proposal to the Board of Zoning Appeals to swap-out a parking floor on Building 7 for more apartments, due to the under-utilization of current parking spaces. I’ll admit from visiting the site quite often, there are many spaces always open, and I can’t call myself a fan of zoning regulations requiring minimum parking amounts per housing units built, since it’s generally not an optimal or equitable policy. Since the project already has so many spaces, it would make sense to tailor the remainder of the project to fit the proven absorption, and good news for those walking: the State & Mitchell Intersection was completed back in mid-January, so crossing the street is now much easier.

Goldwin Smith / Future Klarman Hall February Site Photos

February 24, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

A few more windows on the east side of Goldwin Smith Hall have been boarded-up, and roofing work as part of the enabling work scope for the Klarman Hall project has been proceeding (LeChase Construction), as the entire existing slate and metal roofing materials are replaced with new metal, flashing, and slate pieces. If I’m not mistaken, I believe by this point, the entire north wing, the northern-central section, and the southern and northern slopes of the south wing have new slate installed. The Cornell Chronicle posted an article about how the temperatures have been affecting the project.

The target completion for Klarman Hall is late 2015, with 33,250 square feet of new space going for LEED Platinum certification, a 350 seat auditorium, and a large inner-atrium space, opening-up the Goldwin Smith rotunda for cafe-service areas and entry/egress into Goldwin Smith. Embedded images for each of the four floor plan levels are here in the previous post. Welliver is the general contractor on this project.

Coltivare Site Plan Drawings

February 23, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) is making a bold expansion in downtown with a farm-to-bistro concept, a fitting launch to their Culinary Arts Program (TC3 currently leases space in the Tioga Place Building for their Extension Center). Here are some shots of the site plan review materials, showing the facade plan for the Cayuga Street Garage ground retail space at the corner of Cayuga Street and Clinton Street. The garage parcel is owned by the City of Ithaca, and was leased to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) in 2003 for a 40 year term. The IURA partnered with the National Development Council to redevelop as a mixed-use parking garage, in order to fulfill parking demand, but also to provide ground level retail and office space. Bloomfield/Schon’s adjacent Cayuga Place Two Project (also Cayuga Place Residences) will be breaking ground this year, as sub-contractors are currently submitting bids. The designs are done by Andrew Ramsgard of Ramsgard Architectural Design, an architect whom has done design work for a host of projects, especially restaurants, including Agava.

Full Site Plan Docs Here

Carey Building V: Plaster Ceiling Demo

February 23, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Throughout past week, Compass Builders have made quick work of the old plaster ceiling demolition, and now that the ceiling is exposed, Sunstream Corp will be commencing remediation on the pipe wrap material starting mid-week. The current piping above the former plaster ceiling provides the supply loop for the radiators, which are returned via separate runs to each unit from below. We found an old heating system drawing from the 1926 installation- the second floor sketch is below.
Once the ceiling was exposed, it confirmed the design intent for the finished space, which would be to leave the concrete ceiling slab, beam and column work exposed in the finished space. One of the more popular renovation (especially office & residential space) trends is to leave old structural elements exposed- the leasing term thrown around is called “brick and beam” space, which implies leaving brick walls, and typically, reinforced concrete columns, beams, and floor slabs exposed. In addition to adding a characteristic style, there are some practical advantages as well: electrical conduit runs and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) ductwork are visible, providing a transparent view of where services lead, and eliminating the additional time, materials, and complexity of working around finished walls or drop ceilings. There’s about 14 feet of headspace on this level, so the high ceilings provide another desirable advantage.

Westgate Plaza / Finger Lakes Beverage Center

February 21, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The retail building housing the Finger Lakes Beverage Center and FedEx Office at 605 West State Street, Westgate Plaza looks to begin their renovation work this year, as expected in their site plan review materials submitted in the Summer of last year. The FedEx space has been wrapped with Tyvek, and I’ve heard that work is in full swing on the interior towards the south end of the building. Drawings of the planned exterior are below, along with photos taken a couple weeks ago. The plans will expand the Finger Lakes Beverage Center store area, add an entry along the western wall, a rebuilt pitched roof, parking lot improvements, and a wrap-around awning.

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on: