Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

Planned Parenthood Project Photo Update

April 14, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Photos of this Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes project taken last week, but exterior siding and fiber-cement facade panel installation look complete, as well as recently-placed granite curbing along the drive entry and Seneca Street. It’s hard to tell from the outside, but it looks as if the walls are all framed, and electric, plumbing, and mechanicals are roughed-in, but finish-work like drop ceiling grids and drywall are continuing. Once the remaining windows, shades, signage, doors, lighting fixtures, and roofing fascia boards are installed, the building itself should look relatively complete on the outside.

This project is being constructed by LeChase Construction, and is designed by Chiang O’Brien Architects.

Longest Night Solstice Towers Utility & Roof Work Photos

April 13, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Tower one has made progress on interior electric rough-in, sanitary plumbing rough-in (water supply lines will follow-up shortly), and insulation, while tower two is finishing-up interior framing. On the exterior, new lateral utility services have been installed on the eastern 5′ setback, including buried sprinkler and domestic ductile water lines, a 1/8″ to 1/4″ pitched PVC sanitary sewage lateral (green), 1 1/2″ diameter electric conduit for power, 3/4″ diameter pipe for data and telephone (grey lines wrapping around wall footer), a gas line, and new NYSEG electric meters mounted on both tower side walls. The service trench was backfilled with crushed #2 gravel, layered between blankets of soil.

Plumbing by Warden Plumbing, excavation and backfill by Kirksway Farm, and electric by Shisler Electrical Contractors.

Hale Roofing Inc has completed the roofing installation by applying a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) single-ply roofing membrane over gypsum fiber roof board underlayment:

Typical cross-section (with steel decking):

The black aluminum gutter and downspout will collect roof water runoff out of the open slot in the parapet wall, which then funnels underneath the drive lane through a drain pipe, then to irrigation drip lines along fencing to provide water to plantings along the fence:

Project by Architect John Barradas and Partners, construction by Ciappa & Marinelli Builders

Purity Ice Cream Construction Photos & Final Interior Design

April 12, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The Purity Ice Cream project is reaching drywall-finish stage as demolition finished-up back in February, then the bathrooms, former entry, new entryway, seating, and serving areas were re-framed by Strawbridge and Jahn Builders and outfitted with mechanicals. A new trench was dug and filled across the parking lot for an improved underground power service, while all the electric was re-wired by Richardson Brothers Electric. New lighting fixtures, an entirely new HVAC system, and plumbing have been roughed-in. Drywall and cement boards have been hung, taped, mudded, and the seams were being sanded down this past week.

Stop by Purity this weekend to take a look, they’re serving 12-6

Architecture & Design by John Snyder Architects

Important Tip for this Spring: no longer a door here; new entrance will be to the right

Goldwin Smith Roofing & Klarman Hall Groundwork Project Photos

April 9, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

There’s been some considerable equipment mobilization on this site since late March with the addition of a boom crane and a pile hammer, possibly a vibratory model for noise and speed considerations. The pile hammer is for beam shoring (geo-shoring) along East Avenue, in order to hold the hill together once the site is dug out quite far down for Klarman’s footprint. After the steel beams are in ground, they are followed-up with lagging boards, which are affixed to the beams for soil retention.

Goldwin Smith Hall’s central eastern-side roof has progressed with re-slating and new metal roofing installation, which will continue along that end, and also the south wing’s southern side. The schedule indicates that underpinnings on the south wing of Goldwin Smith Hall have been completed, and will continue along the rotunda area this month.

Steel Beams for Shoring:

Cross-section of Klarman Hall design along East Ave.:

More photos from April 6th:

Goldwin-Klarman-Cornell-Ithaca-040614-21

Goldwin-Klarman-Cornell-Ithaca-040614-23

Photos from March 29th:

Collegetown Terrace Early April Photo Update

April 8, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Some facade-panelling has progressed on Collegetown Terrace‘s Buildings 5 & 6 since mid-march, and Building 5’s eastern stairwell has its steel window wall framing installed, so glass should follow-up soon to match the installation currently on Building 6’s western end. The stairwell ends were used for loading-in building materials, so the closing-up is probably a good sign that the interior is well on its way.

Building 5 south face:

Building 5 east end:

Building 5 north face:

Stocking Hall Reconstruction Photos

April 6, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

I finally took the time to swing by Cornell’s Stocking Hall reconstruction to take some photos, so here are a selection of exteriors from this $105 million ongoing project. Stocking Hall (and the former Cornell Dairy Bar & Food Science Lab) closed down back in 2010 to demolish the 48,000 square-foot “runway” section built in 1921 stretching along Tower Road, and rebuild this new 105,500 square foot four-storey wing. The project includes the renovation of the Food Science Lab building and the Historic Wing of Stocking Hall, at a total of 81,500 square feet. The Dairy Bar re-opened for business back in August 2013, and has since began selling Cornell dairy products earlier this year. The ongoing work in the existing Historic Wing of Stocking Hall is a thorough interior renovation to make way for modern teaching labs, classrooms, offices, and conference rooms.

The new glass-fronted section along Tower Road prominently displays the dairy holding tanks, processing equipment, and dairy operations, while the upper stories contain research labs, teaching labs, offices and conference rooms. There are nice terrace areas on the front yard along Tower Road, but also in the back (southern side), just west of the receiving zone. The connection between the new wing and the Historic Wing has been built, but is closed-off for construction.

Night lights:

Existing Historic Wing:

Food Science Lab:

Thurston Avenue Apartments Framing Blitz

April 6, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The RABCO Highland House Thurston Avenue Apartments project being constructed by G.M. Crisalli has made some impressive framing progress, as Buildings C & D have topped their final storeys since late March, and Building B has gone up another storey, and is almost ready for its third and final. I’ve learned that Building A, the smaller building that had been planned for the right-side entry on this site has been postponed. Building A would have contained 2 one-bedroom units, so the pending unit count on this current project is now 15 three-bedrooms and 3 four-bedrooms:

Photos from April 6th:

Photos from March 29th:

Commons Rebuild: Telecom Vaults & Gas Line

April 1, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

The Commons Rebuild project entered Phase Three this past month, as Vacri Construction is back on site digging-out trenches for the installation of telecom pipe ducts and utility vaults (the large pre-formed concrete blocks with manhole access). The duct bank run along the western end near Cayuga Street is being worked on right now.

In addition to the duct piping and vaults, NYSEG is installing a new gas main along several of the outside edges of the construction fence to replace the old one. The concrete slab is cut and removed in sections, then several feet of soil is dug out to install the piping. The gas main is not part of Vacri’s contract, but since the gas main is quite old, NYSEG requested to replace it during the same timeframe since the project presents an ideal opportunity to do so. As of now, the concrete is cut, but not yet removed.

CrossFit Pallas is Going Up on Cherry Street

March 31, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Well, this one caught me by surprise, but courtesy of a heads-up email (thanks Charles), I grabbed some photos today of this gym structure well underway as of a few weeks ago. I last wrote about the plans back in December, when renders for the 10,368 square foot building on Cherry Street to house CrossFit Pallas and a Boxing Gym were released in site plan review. The owners currently have a gym at 711 West Court Street, but the space is quite small compared with this footprint- here’s their website, and it has a page explaining what CrossFit is.

The structure is actually wood-framed, faced with corrugated metal panels, and what appears to be laminated veneer lumber (LVLs) for the rafters and also LVLs braced diagonally along the top structure walls. The major joints are joined with steel brackets, and the structure is not sitting on a pad, but a graded bed of gravel, with pre-formed concrete support blocks. The rest should probably go up quite fast.

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311409

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311408

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311407

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311406

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311405

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311404

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311402

Crossfit-Pallas-Ithaca-Cherry-St-03311401

Cornell’s Sage Chapel Preservation Project

March 29, 2014 // by Jason Henderson

Cornell University has hired a design team that has assessed the current conditions of Sage Chapel in order to carry out a large preservation effort. The primary motivators for the project are the conditions of the slate roof, roof flashing, and brick and stone masonry. The lead architect, John Milner Associates specialize in historic preservation, the same group that has assessed and designed the repairs for the Washington Monument, which will be reopening May 12th this year. Robert Silman Associates has been working on the structural engineering aspects, along with Princeton Engineering Group for mechanical engineering needs.

Photos property of Cornell University

The original Chapel was built in 1873, and was designed by Reverend Charles Babcock, one of the founding members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and Cornell’s first Professor of Architecture. It was the first non-denominational chapel built on a college campus in the United States, a gift from Henry William Sage, a lumber-magnate and early benefactor of Cornell. The Chapel has undergone four separate additions, with the Memorial Chapel addition in 1882, the 1898 addition, the 1903 addition, and the 1940 addition (pictured above), all of which maintained a design consistent with the original building.

The planned work is fully detailed in the application to the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission. The design team has documented areas where the ribbon slate is nearing the end of its service life, necessitating replacement, flashing and seams on the roof (especially rake and gable ends) that must be reconstructed, and deteriorated brick and stone masonry on the memorial chapel. There are also a few stained glass windows that have gap seams to repair, work to be done by stained glass conservator E.S. Taylor Studio. Several items will require repainting decorative finishes, work to be done by John Tiedemann, Inc.

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on: