Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

State & Mitchell New Curb Placement and Traffic Joy

September 4, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The western curb and lane of the State & Mitchell Intersection has been dug-out, filled-in with asphalt, and the new curb put in place. The sidewalk along the new curb is still open for pedestrians, so you can get a good glimpse at the work going on. The traffic flow is clearly a lot more jammed than usual, but when the work is all done it will be a much more efficient and safe intersection than it was before. The planned traffic lights will form an “L-shape” along and perpendicular to East State Street, allowing for turning traffic flows from the West and North, and traffic flow from East to West and vice versa. See the plan overlay on an aerial image in this previous post, along with traffic data.

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Collegetown Terrace Building 5 Progress

August 29, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

More photos from the Collegetown Terrace Project. The eastern foundation walls of Building 5 have been formed, and are being poured, and there’s another floor of exterior sheathing and framing going up. The landscaping is also fully-mulched now, looks nice.

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Collegetown Terrace, Building 5 Decking, Pouring Final Foundations

August 24, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Building 5 is set to have its last section of foundation poured-in, as you can see from the form wall at the end. There’s new steel decking on the second level, and portions of the siding have been sheathed.

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Collegetown Terrace Mitchell Plaza, Historic Elements

August 18, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The cobblestone entry area in front of the Fitness Center/Entry Pavilion is called “Mitchell Plaza” and contains interpretive elements from the Jane A Delano home that was demolished for construction. The home served as a residence for nurses and nursing students for the nearby Ithaca City Hospital, named for Jane Delano, whom almost single-handedly created the American Red Cross Nurses Corps. The arcade wall contains the original brick and granite window trim, and the open doorway is in fact the original doorway from the home. See below for the interpretive elements PDF, and a memorandum about the home.

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Collegetown Terrace gets Landscaping, more work on Building 5

August 15, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

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Of all the projects going on right now, this one is definitely the most panorama-friendly. Building 5’s construction is rolling along, with some new light steel framing alongside the heavy steel framing put up a few weeks ago. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that the heavy steel framing must be for a multi-level parking section of the building, which shows a car entrance and separate exit on the site plan.
The landscaping makes a big visual impact. The bright-colored facades on Buildings 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 along State Street blend into the hill much better now, and I couldn’t tell you what any of these plants are, but they look quality. Once the rest of the landscaping is complete and we have a good rain, I believe we will see the final look.

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State & Mitchell Intersection: Final Design

August 14, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

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Here’s the final design for construction documents for the State & Mitchell intersection. This will surely be a major transit enhancement for this area, and I hope to continue to see more civic transportation projects that account for pedestrian and cyclist safety (noting the recent cyclist fatality on Warren Road). Ithacans tend to walk, bike or ride public transit to work at drastically higher rates than the State and US averages, so taxpayers should expect to see their money spent on projects that benefit their transit choices, especially since these transit options are less polluting and resource-intensive.
The bids for this project were due-in back on July 3rd, so we should probably be hearing some news on timing soon.

Collegetown Terrace Site Photos: Hardscaping & Building 5

August 5, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

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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.

 

Collegetown Terrace Site Photos

July 22, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Some paving and landscaping work has begun in front of Building 3.4, and you can see Building 5’s framing making its way towards Casa Roma. The State Street storm water drainage pipe is paved over and looks completed, along with a stretch of sidewalk in front of the Williams House.

State and Mitchell Redesign Plans

July 22, 2013 // by James Douglas

Final design (Plan 2B) approved back in February has been posted, but here were the alternative designs for this project.  The Ithaca Times article from January has a discussion about the plans, noting the significance in moving this forward due to the Collegetown Terrace project.

 

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Collegetown Terrace Site Photos

July 11, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

In taking photos of this project, I had overlooked the fact that there are some great views off of Valentine Place, so here are some shots viewing the project from the east on Valentine and more from State. I definitely prefer the aqua tiles to the brighter ones, and you can see the transition between the two as Building 3.4 makes its way behind 901 East State St, the George C. Williams House, which has been impressively renovated and restored by Schickel Construction. George C. Williams was a former President of Ithaca College (at the time, the Ithaca Conservatory of Music), and he was instrumental in leading the institution towards financial stability, and also in securing the land rights on South Hill where the college sits now.