Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

Project Updates

Hart Hotels, Holiday Inn Project, Taxes

August 13, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The Ithaca Journal has announced that the City will be hosting a public information session on Hart Hotel’s new tower project, now no longer a Holiday Inn-branded project. Hart Hotels has done mostly Holiday Inn-branded projects, but has several homegrown-branded hotels under management. What’s more, they will be applying for a tax abatement (much like the Hotel Ithaca Marriott project) through the Community Investment Incentive Tax Abatement Program.

One of the factors at play may be mortgage interest rates. This project is going from about 3.5% to a likely 4.2-4.4% within the next year, so for a $17.8 million project, that’s about an extra three million in financing costs over the course of a 30-year mortgage. The seven-year tax abatement program would save about $1.24 million in tax expenses (see chart, not counting inflation), assuming taxable improvement equals project cost, and we hold the total mill rate constant. Since the Marriott got an abatement, Hart Hotels would be wise to go for it.

Taxes are awfully high in the City. If the parcel’s total value at the end of construction is assessed at $25 million and they financed $17.8 million at 4.3% for 30 years, debt service payments would be $1.057 million per year, City + County + BID taxes (22.16985 mill rate) would be about $554,246 per year, and School taxes (16.9534 mill rate) would be $423,835 per year holding current rates constant.

Real Estate Taxes: $978,081 per year
Debt Service: $1,057,000 per year

So for this example, real estate taxes are not far from being equivalent to the 30-year financing costs of this project per year. If taxes were significantly lower, there may not be so much financial pressure to participate in the tax abatement programs.

Hobby Lobby, Old K-Mart

August 12, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

To follow-up on the previous mystery here, this is becoming a Hobby Lobby by November of this year. It’s a sort of craft store like Michael’s or AC Moore, and had its beginnings in Oklahoma. I doubt if it will take-up the amount of space that K-Mart once occupied, but the build-out looks to be consuming a significant portion of this pad that has sat vacant for several years now.

Finger Lakes Beverage Center, Westgate Plaza

August 11, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

605 West State Street, better known as the building with the Finger Lakes Beverage Center and Fedex Office will be doing some renovation work to the building, primarily new EPDM roofing, landscaping changes, and facade alterations with a new wrap-around awning. The work is being done by Benchmark Construction/Fritz Contracting out of Trumansburg. The work is scheduled to finish by the end of the year.

Gates Hall Site Photos

August 9, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

An assortment of concrete piles for the elaborate entryway look set, and the front cantilever has been supported with additional steel beams. The western front on the Hoy Road side will be interesting to watch, as the concrete steps are filled-in making their way down to the sidewalk.

Emerson, Emerson, Emerson

August 8, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The Ithaca Times Article on this is a must read.

There has never been a redevelopment project of this magnitude in Ithaca. Over 93 acres and 800,000 Square Feet of existing space is a massive undertaking, and one that will take many years to do, but now that the potential buyer will be closing on the property, there’s a tangible horizon. The cost and financing needs of this project are immense relative to other projects in Ithaca. Even if we assume an average $100/SF redevelopment cost within the existing shell structures, that brings the total cost of the project in at $80 million, assuming all 800,000 SF are built-out at this cost. I think it’s safe to say that it may even cost more depending on the mix of development, and environmental remediation will take more time and money. The exterior work will probably be quite significant as well. The potential for this site has been a major talking point in local politics for years now, so it’s nice to see a serious developer taking the reigns and the risk to realize this opportunity.

Breckenridge Place Photo & Landscape Update

August 8, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

These photos were taken in the past week; there’s been further progress on the facade and window installations, and I’ve seen drywall pallets being hoisted onto each floor, so the interior work must be coming along.

Here’s the landscaping plan. Ingress/egress will be underneath and through the building on the West Seneca Street side, and includes 12 parking spaces. The plan was done by Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects, and includes ample new plantings like grasses, shrubs and trees, as well as the inclusion of the existing trees currently on the site.

Press Bay Alley Begins

August 8, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Urban Core’s Press Bay Alley Project has begun, with plans to convert these old Ithaca Journal press bays into micro-retail/arcade spaces. The block knock-out alongside the scaffolding on the Green Street side will feature a top-to-bottom window, and the garage doors will be replaced with steel-framed glass. In the meantime since plans were being drawn, the spaces have hosted the Arcades Project and several other events. It will be interesting to see what retail businesses decide to sprout here, and if other future projects in the area incorporate micro-retailing into their developments.

Thurston Ave Apartments: Existing Property Photos

August 7, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Swung by Thurston Ave to see first-hand what this parcel looks like at the moment. The planned driveway will go over an existing gravel drive, and it looks like the larger trees on the edge of Highland and Thurston will be spared. This project was granted final site plan approval back in June, so I bet we’ll see something happening by this Fall.

Seneca Way: Five Stories High & Rising

August 6, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The Newman/Warren Seneca Way project has one more story to go before the exterior wall framing is complete. They’ve posted new fence materials with a snazzy new logo, and it appears that CSP Management (Jerry Dietz’s company) will be handling the leasing and property management.

Collegetown Terrace Site Photos: Hardscaping & Building 5

August 5, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The recently built paths and sidewalks have been opened-up to walk on, so you can get a spectacular view of Building 5’s progress from the back of the new entry pavilion, which now looks stocked with fitness equipment. It’s amazing to see the size of these- Buildings 5 and 7 will have a roughly similar-scale footprint, each spanning across the hill well over 600 feet in length; so about two football fields. As Ithacating’s update noted, the completion of Building 3.4 and the landscaping surrounding it essentially brings Phase Two towards completion as tenants will be rolling into town throughout the next few weeks for Fall Semester.

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on: