Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

Thurston Ave Apartments Foundation Work

January 30, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Rabco’s Thurston Avenue Apartments project is showing more foundation work since last time I swung around in late December. Concrete has been poured and covered for the foundation footers, and vertical rebar is in place for concrete block reinforcement. There are pallets of foam board insulation around the site to be used for foundation wall insulation once the block walls are assembled. The trenches for the foundation usually aren’t backfilled with soil until the ~~modular pieces are secured on top of the foundations.~~
I’ve just learned that in fact, this project is not going to be modular, much to my amazement. An August deadline is going to be quite a difficult task for stick-built, but I suppose where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Here’s a double three bedroom unit floor plate from the site plan review documents:

The Carey Building II

January 27, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

For the purposes of this site, I’d rather not focus on the end-use of the project (rather, the physical details of the project), but coincidentally, The Economist ran a nice, in-depth Special Report on Tech Startups this past January 18th edition, which provides some thorough information on business incubators, accelerators, corporate venturing, and their differences. The planned incubator for this space will be a coordination between Cornell, IC, and TC3. Cornell is betting heavily on the academic-private model for the development of its Cornell NYC Tech Campus, which will be leveraging NYC’s large, and growing tech business community.

The structural members are all steel-reinforced concrete columns and beams, with a brick facade, in some parts backed-up by terra cotta. Many of the original interior walls are cellular gypsum block, covered in plaster. One of the challenges with older brick buildings is the northern walls- brick is very porous, so buildings in the north with brick north faces get exposed to lots of precipitation, but little sunlight. The resulting moisture makes its way through and erodes the plaster in older structures that don’t have a moisture membrane. One of the options is to build the wall inward, or simply clean up and re-plaster with more moisture resistant cover.

Column cut showing steel bar and spiral steel reinforcement:

Gypsum Block:

Roof ceiling at filled-in section, with beam-to-column connection. The beam depth and column masses are quite large, typical of buildings built in the early days of reinforced concrete:

Here are some existing conditions photos:

There’s a lot of demolition work to be done before any construction begins. The ceiling grid, almost all existing interior walls, former plaster drop ceiling, HVAC, electric, etc., all get removed. The incubator space is going for a much more open floor plan, so the best option is to basically clear everything out and start new. There’s some remediation work to be done as well, typical of projects with older building materials. The floor to roof deck height is quite generous, so the final space will have a much taller ceiling height than it does now. The windows provide a lot of natural light as well, since they’re located all along the northern, eastern and southern faces, which have generous setbacks before any adjacent structures. Once the office enclosures are removed, the space will probably be relatively well-lit during the day from sunlight.

The Carey Building

January 17, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

As noted in the Ithaca Journal this morning, plans for a business incubator by Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins-Cortland Community College have been unveiled for the Carey Building in downtown Ithaca, owned and managed by Travis Hyde Properties since 2010. The grant funding originates from a program through New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council, with funding awarded to the Southern Tier Economic Development Council for Innovation Hot Spots.

I’ll have more information to share about the project next week (I’m employed by Travis Hyde Properties, so I’d rather not publish any specific plans or materials before they’re made public). What I’d like to do is provide a series of posts and updates as the project progresses. I hope it will be interesting and informative, and provide a good look at what’s involved in these kinds of projects.

Incubator Space Rendering:

Render property of Cornell University

To start, here’s a brief history of the building: the Tudor/Gothic Carey Building was finished in 1922, and was designed to match the Tudor Revival entry facade of the Strand Theatre, which sat directly to the west (shared walls), and then north and behind, filling what is now a dirt lot for parking.

Former Strand Theatre footprint:

Carey Building, 1930s:

The Strand Theatre Entry:

Strand Theatre and Carey Building:

The building was built by Henry A. Carey, an insurance broker, whom owned the “Carey McKinney Group,” an insurance brokerage, later bought by Tompkins Trust Company in 2006. The building has housed a variety of tenants over the years- the earliest records I could find were for the NY Telephone Company in 1933, back when some commercial leases were recorded as deeds in public record. Mayers moved to the building in 1968, and the picture from the 1930s shows a haberdashery, oriental rug shop, Dunlop, and the photo from ~1975 ~~the late 60s or 70s (I’m not sure)~~ shows a Pet shop.

The second story was previously shaped like a “U”, with the top facing east, and windows facing inwards for daylight, shown in the 1970 photo below, when Sherwin-Williams occupied part of the first floor. The cutout was later roofed, and subsumed into the second floor interior space. The Strand Theatre (built in 1916) was demolished in 1993 after being closed for many years.

Goldwin Smith Hall Roofing

January 1, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Slight progress since November, but I would bet that much of this is on hold until the holidays are over or once the weather is a bit more forgiving. The roof of Goldwin Smith Hall is being replaced as part of the enabling work for the Klarman Hall project. The new electric and telecom concrete duct along East Avenue has been covered over now, so further excavation and the remaining enabling work will probably be completed early this year to prep for construction season.

Statler Hall Current Entry Photos

December 30, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Here are some current images of the western Statler Hall entrance that Cornell is planning to renovate into a redesigned vestibule and facade, expanded second story above, and landscaping in front. Something I hadn’t noticed before- the proposed stone base wall sections will match the existing ones below each ground floor window along East Avenue, and the sections along College Avenue that were completed as part of the Tower and Beck Center Renovations. The proposed facade will also match the original limestone block from the 1949 build, which the current entry does quite well too.

Revised Planting Plan:

Gates Hall Photo Update

December 30, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Cornell’s future home for the CIS program, Gates Hall has made some exterior progress since late November, however, I’ve noticed that the facilities page now indicates (on the right-hand side) that early 2014 is the scheduled opening, rather than December 2013 as previously announced. The angular south-west entry way retaining walls have been poured, the stair structure and rebar is in place, and a couple more pre-fab concrete “feet” have been assembled on the western entryway. I imagine that the interior has been the major focus for finishing-up to get the school moved-in; Spring instruction starts January 22nd, although, judging by peaks from the outside, the goal may be during semester.

Cornell Sesquicentennial Commemorative Grove

December 23, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Cornell has just proposed a landscaping project for 2015 to celebrate its Sesquicentennial Anniversary (that’s 150 years, Cornell was founded in 1865) on the Arts Quad. The sketch plan proposal (embedded below) by Weiss/Manfredi (see Museum of the Earth and the future Vet School) shows a series of stone benches and surfaces below Central Avenue with lighting above in the treeline, and engravings of significant events in Cornell’s history along the main path going West, and quotes by famous Cornellians on the benches. Looks to be a neat project. As shown in the plans, the intent is to align the Grove with the statue of Ezra Cornell between McGraw and Morrill Halls, and the statue of Andrew D. White in front of Goldwin Smith Hall.

May, 2014 Update: Project cost is estimated at $521,700

The New Google Maps

December 17, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, I’d highly recommend doing so- as has been expected for a while now, Google Maps is now in 3D: terrain, buildings, everything. Here’s a screenshot of a view over Ithaca, but you can see the new map engine by going to Google Maps, then hit the lower left for “Earth view”, then bottom right for “Tilt” to see varying degrees of view. Just make sure you’re free for several hours before doing so.

Some screenshots here, updated January 22nd, 2014:

Core Downtown

Cornell North Campus:

Cornell Main Campus:

East Hill Plaza:

Ithaca College:

The Route 13 Strip:

Lakefront:

Cornell’s Statler Hall Renovation

December 10, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Cornell University’s Statler Hall (School of Hotel Administration) will be undergoing a fitting $2.4 million modification project on the western-side of the building along East Avenue, where the current entrance vestibule will be replaced with a more modern-style entrance, which will match the recent renovations 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, the designers on this vestibule project completed both the Beck Center and the Tower Renovation, (the links go to some great pages on their site showcasing both projects). In addition to the vestibule, there will be some new additional floor space created on the second floor. The original Statler Hall was completed in 1949, and has been renovated several times before. There will also be some new landscaping (see north and south plazas in the presentation below) with benches, new pavers, and bike racks.

Presentation:

Landscaping Plan:

Demolition Elevations:

Planned Elevations:

Full plan docs can be found here.

Klarman Hall Progress, Goldwin’s Roof Replacement

November 30, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Goldwin Smith Hall’s roof replacement project is well underway, and there’s a new concrete electric and telecom duct along East Ave. that has been run and poured as part of the enabling work for the Klarman Hall project. There’s a photo grab of the section below, showing the new service area, and where the new building’s retaining wall will sit. The future sidewalk area will be directly above the duct, and then offices will be built-in beneath this grade right beyond the retaining wall.

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