The future 33,250 square foot Klarman Hall project being constructed between the wings of Goldwin Smith Hall by Welliver has completed the north and south foundation walls, and in addition to progress on the retaining foundation wall along East Ave, the southern concrete wall has been formed and poured. Because of the steep grade and excavation, concrete trucks park on East Ave and unload concrete into crane buckets that hoist the pours over to each form.
The structure represents Cornell’s first Humanities Building in over 100 years (Goldwin Smith was built in 1892). The design was done by Koetter | Kim & Associates.
Cornell’s $2.4 million Statler Hall Entry Renovation project seems to be nearing completion: the exterior limestone veneer facade sections are installed, and the second floor interior ductwork and mechanicals have been wrapped in insulation. Next up are final touches to the exterior- aluminum trim work between the glass curtain wall, roof fascia, stone base sill, bike racks, and the remainder of the interior finishes.
The design is by KSS Architects and M/E Engineering, and the project has been managed in-house by Cornell Facilities Services.
The renovation is intended to match the additions that have been completed on the eastern and southern sides: the Beck Center along the eastern side (Phase One Expansion), and the renovated auditorium tower on the southern side (Phase Two expansion). KSS Architects designed both the Beck Center and the Tower Renovation
Downtown Ithaca’s Cayuga Place Residences project shows forward progress on construction in the past two weeks, as two more precast hollow-core concrete decks have been installed for floors two and three. Steel cross-beam assembly is done before each deck is installed, and by the looks of it, the fourth floor is just about ready for its floor.
The seams between each deck plank are covered over with a concrete topping or filler, a process referred to as “leveling and grouting” the plank floor. Often times, a steel mesh of welded wire is installed over top, then a concrete topping mix to finish the surface (depends on the type of floor that has been engineered, and the planks used). On top of that of course, carpet/tile, etc.- finished floor materials go in.
The project is being developed by Bloomfield/Schon + Partners, with construction by Turnbull-Wahlert Construction, both firms out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The building will be 7-stories, 45 apartment units, with a total of 49,244 gross square feet.
Foundation holes have been dug out and forms have been assembled on a portion of the footprint for the 140 College Ave 3,800 square foot, 12-bedroom expansion on the south side of the building. The expansion will feature a windowed hall between the structures to provide visual relief, but the design is intended to maintain historic integrity by matching the Second Empire-Styled building. As with many other projects in Collegetown, the construction may commence due to the Collegetown re-zoning, which eliminated requirements for minimum parking in several zones.
The building is owned and managed by Po Family Realty, and the expansion is designed by Jason Demarest, a local architect.
The Old Elmira Road Complete Streets project has Vitale Contractors mobilized along the north side to excavate the side of the road and install new sewer, precast concrete manhole vaults, backfill with stone, and install curbing and new concrete sidewalks. Â Trees have been cleared along the shopping plaza east entrance and excavation has begun at the southwest end, and will continue northeast until the traffic circle.
The three building, three story, 57 bedroom, 18 unit Thurston Avenue Apartments project in Cornell Heights has been completed for occupancy just in time for the start of the semester. Below are some final photos, and a brief project narrative:
The project site plan was approved by the City of Ithaca Planning Board last June, 2013. The structure foundations were dug back in December, with some foundation work over the winter, and then insulated concrete form (ICF) block foundation walls in February. The unusually prolonged and severe winter prevented a lot of early site work (i.e. underground plumbing), but by March, light wood framing for the three-story structures began (framing by Compass Builders), and showed good progress throughout April and May. Roofing started-up and finished in May, and by June, the Marvin windows had been fully installed. Brick veneer base and stone caps began installation in June, and finished by July. Throughout July and August, the façade Hardie stucco panels, side and window trim, roof fascia, and other exterior building finishes were installed, along with landscaping: the project contains a parking lot with 19 parking spaces, concrete curbing and sidewalks, several stone retaining walls along the sloped hillside facing the Thurston Ave/Highland Ave intersection, and ample trees and shrubs. Some landscaping work still remains around the hillside, but certificates of occupancy have been completed, and folks have moved-in.
Cornell’s future 33,250 square foot Klarman Hall Project being constructed by Welliver has continued progress on the concrete wall along East Avenue and the south foundation walls. The shoring wall along East Ave (driven into place over the summer) holds the soil back as rebar is assembled, then large steel forms are craned in place and secured, and concrete is poured section-by-section going south to north. It’s hard to make out the status of the north foundation walls, but looking at the schedule, we should see rebar assembly there shortly. The south foundation walls have been completed, and steel erection above these walls should begin soon. Photos from August 20th and September 1st below:
As announced a few weeks ago, the Commons Rebuild Project has hit another set of delays with NYSEG utility work, and won’t be completed until next Spring. While the news is certainly a bummer, the deck should be paved with concrete by early November, so I look forward to the center section being opened-up again for pedestrians.
Pedestrian malls are quite uncommon (and not always successful) in the US nowadays, so on a recent trip to Charlottesville, Virginia (college town of the University of Virginia), I visited the Historic Downtown Mall. Charlottesville’s pedestrian mall is sizeable (seven blocks), highly successful, and it’s easy to see why: it’s in the dead-center of town, which is not far from UVA’s campus, and is anchored at one end by a large hotel and conference center (The Omni Charlottesville), Regal Theater, and the other by a public pavilion for outdoor events (the nTelos Wireless Pavillion), Downtown Transit Hub, City Hall, and Visitor’s Center.
The Cayuga Place Residences project has moved forward since the last check-in on August 20th for steel assembly: the second floor hollow core plank has been set in place between all 16 columns, and it looks as if the ends have been filled solid, which produces a higher-strength floor. Steel beams span the length of the third floor, so we should see the next floor set this week or next.
Vitale Contractors start work on the Old Elmira Road Complete Streets Project next week, as plans were finalized and bid out earlier this year in June. The City of Ithaca received a grant of $680,000 from the Southern Tier Economic Development Council (our EDC regional council) to complete the work. Previous City policy holds that adjacent property owners are assessed for 50% of the cost of installation of curbing, and 100% of the cost for sidewalks, but according to the new sidewalk policy, the creation of a work credit would lessen the assessed burden.
The plans were completed by the City of Ithaca Department of Public Works, and include bike lanes, new sidewalks, and curbing from Route 13 to the roundabout with Spencer Road. Complete Streets is a planning concept and transportation policy that aims to safely include all transportation users (pedestrians, motor vehicles, cyclists, people of all ages), rather than focusing solely on motor vehicles.
