Gallery: A look at what’s under construction in Ithaca, Part 2 – The Ithaca Voice

ITHACA, N.Y. Just in time for your weekend reading, here's round two of construction updates from around the city of Ithaca. For those who missed Part 1 earlier this week, you can find that piece here.

With the project approved by the city of Ithaca Planning Board back in July, site preparation (clearing the land and grading the building footprint) has started on the Aeroplane Factory expansion in Ithaca's West End neighborhood. The plans, developed bylocal businessmen Gregar Brous, Robert Sparks and Jerry Dietz, call for a two-phase buildout. The original plan to do all the work at once were changed out of an abundance of caution given the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phase one, which is starting this fall, consists of a2,000 square-foot, one-story office expansion on the south side of the Hangar Building at 140 Brindley St. that's the area being prepped in the photos. Phase two, set to start next spring, will focus on the construction of "Taber Tower", which is a bit of an exaggeration for a four-story building, but hey, they can call it what they want. The 14,328 square-foot tower would host1,100 square-feet for a ground-floor caf, about 5,000 square-feet in office space on the first through third floors, and five apartments.Given the high water table at this waterfront property, the new building will utilize a deep pile foundation and have no basement level, while the Hangar Building addition is light enough to utilize a concrete slab without the need for steel piles.

This isn't a large project, but it will be a nice mixed-use complement to the new Taughannock Boulevard bridge across the street.Both additions are being designed bylocal architect Jason K. Demarest.

Not a new construction, but a gut renovation the former 4,686 square-foot restaurant at 323-25 Elmira Road, which was built in 1979-80 and most recently operated as a Friendly's, is getting a new lease on life as a Byrne Dairy. The new Byrne Dairy will follow the growing trend of large-scale convenience stores playing the part of small-scale grocers, with a salad and sandwich shop alongside fresh food sales and more typical convenience store fare.Byrne Dairy would replace the existing flat roof with a peaked roof, and install new exterior finishes (green and cream-colored vinyl and stone veneer) on all sides of the building.

The photos show that the rather dated mansard roof has been stripped, and new lightweight structural steel has been erected, which will frame out the new covered porch that Byrne Dairy intends to create with their renovation. The windows will soon go, replaced with a different choice of frames and a new entry from Elmira Road, as well as an entrance facing the new six-pump gas station being built on the north side of the lot although not in the photos, the ground was excavated for storage tank and utility installations to serve the pumps and fuel canopy.

As a renovation, construction on the new Byrne Dairy should only take about three months, so this will be open before winter's over. As for the existing location at 215 North Meadow St., it's for sale but there's been no word on any potential buyers. The new store is designed bythe Donahoe Group of Marcellus, but it's not clear who the general contractor is.

A little further south on Elmira Road, and Endwell-based Visions Federal Credit Union is in the midst of buildout for its new 3,320 square-foot credit union branch, its first in Tompkins County.Alongside the new branch office will be a parking lot containing 20 spaces and drive-up ATMs. Other features include the usual stormwater retention areas and landscaping improvements, a small amount of sidewalk, electric vehicle charging stations, and a pet-friendly outdoor waiting area next to the building and bike racks, which appears to be that heavy-duty steel frame next to the curb is in the foreground of the last photo.

More interestingly, the majority of the lot would be fenced in from the adjacent roadways and turned into an outdoor amphitheater. A 940 square-foot stage structure would be built at the southern end of the property, and the lawn would be maintained for use as an outdoor event and entertainment venue. That appears to be undergoing some amount of site grading and prep the amphitheater would be where the excavator is in the third picture, at the far end of the property.

The credit union building itself is already framed with structural steel with lightweight steel stud walls. It is then sheathed in USG gypsum panels, fitted with steel rails, Dow insulating styrofoam is then slotted between those rails, and then a variety of neutral-colored fiber cement panels will be installed over the top. The section sheathed in Tyvek housewrap will be finished with steel panels, and the Tyvek also extends around the the building just above the concrete masonry unit base, so it's likely also a moisture barrier beneath the CMU. Cinder block masonry is also being used for that big modern-aesthetic monument sign that will protrude from the entrance canopy. That tiny hole by the entrance in the last pic will be where the night deposit box goes, in case you're wondering.

The new branch should be open by the end of the winter. All-in-one design/engineering/construction firm PWCampbellof Pittsburgh is in charge of buildout.

Visum Development Group's first foray into workforce housing is taking shape on West Seneca Street.A humdrum two-story, three-unit apartment house has been replaced with a three-story, 12-unit apartment building totaling 7,845 square feet, with six studios (442 square feet) and six two-bedroom units (708-744 square fee),to be priced in the 70-80 percent area median income (AMI) bracket, so around $1,200/month for the two-bedroom units and $900/month for studios.While a 4-story building was allowed by zoning, they would have needed a second set of fire stairs per state fire code, which made the extra floor cost-prohibitive. The target market is one-person and two-person working-class households.

As with many Visum Projects, STREAM Collaborative is the architect (the filing docs suggest architectJacob Marnells work).The relatively simple design is intended to quietly fit in with the apartment houses that neighbor it on either side. The new structure would be finished inDryvit synthetic stucco(colorBenjamin Moore Sunny Days) and fiber cement clapboard and batten board (colorBenjamin Moore Indian River).Certainteed 3-tab asphalt shingles (Timber color)will be used on the gable roof,Anderson 100 and 400 Series windows with off-white trim, black steel canopies and unpainted larch wood screening will also be used. Keeping with the warm colors, the doors will be paintedBM Jupiter Glow. Main entries are on the sides, but one apartment is accessed via the front entrance.Heating is electric baseboard, but I dont see anything about heat pumps in the planning docs.

Construction costs are estimated at $1,275,330. At least $200,000 of that is covered with (what was, before Ithaca town and Dryden town joined) a joint city-county-Cornell Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) grant as they split it up, $170,000 from Cornell, and $30,000 from Ithaca, though to be clear the project is not Cornell-affiliated in any way. At present, the building is fully framed (wood frame), sheathed in plywood, and wrapped in Tyvek. The roof has been covered in underlayment but not shingled, and while the windows have been fitted, the doors have not. A spring 2021 completion is likely. Plumb Level Square of Lansing(Joe Lovejoy) is the general contractor.

The Student Agencies Building is on a very tight schedule. The new $12 million, six-story mixed-use building with ground-level retail and 56 apartments has to be ready for occupancy by August 2021. Being at Cornell's doorstep makes its prime real estate for student renters, and they will pay a premium ($3,250 for a two-bedroom unit, $2,750 for a one-bedroom unit) that Student Agencies will very quickly lose out on if they have to house renters in a hotel as some later-than-expected Collegetown projects have had to do over the years.

One of the ways Student Agencies (and its general contractor, Purcell Construction Corporation) are attempting to save time is the use of a RediCor modular steel form system. Most elevator and stairwell cores are made of masonry and are assembled block by block. A RediCor system uses corrugated steel boxes with pre-built stairs and elevator door openings to save time, they're craned and bolted into place like Lego blocks, and concrete is poured between the corrugated steel walls to provide the necessary strength and stability the core needs. While more expensive than the usual CMU approach, this allows construction to move quicker. The structural steel frame (which will slot into the openings in the RediCor columns) has started to build out and concrete slab and foundation wall pours are quickly moving along.

The steel frame will be built out fairly quickly here, so expect full assembly of the frame over the winter months, after which we'll have a pretty good feel on the size of HOLT Architects' latest creation.

More typical to Visum Development Group's development portfolio, the Ithaca-based company is pursuing a smaller redevelopment project at 126 College Ave. Replacing a five-bedroom house will be a 5-unit apartment building intended for the student rental market. The partially-exposed basement level will host a four-bedroom unit, the first floor a five-bedroom unit, and the top three floors will each have a six-bedroom unit. For a total of 27 bedrooms between them. The plan is to have the building, designed by STREAM Collaborative, ready for occupancy by August 2021.

A check of Visum's property management sister company (Live More Ithaca) doesn't show any units being available for rent in the new building. Similar units in other Visum properties go for about $1,400-$1,500 per person. For that, renters receive per-friendly units with free Wi-Fi, fully furnished units with smart TVs, in-unit washer and dryer (no coins or cards needed), private balconies, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, dishwashers and microwaves. Tenants can use the media room and at another Visum property across the street at 201 College Avenue.

The basement level has been built out with what appear to be insulated concrete forms, which are dense blocks with steel reinforcing bars that interlock, and wen fastened concrete is poured in to provide the necessary strength and rigidity. which tend to be more expensive but are quicker to build and more energy-efficient. The upper level will be wood-frame, and build out fairly quickly, and the building will be finished out fiber cement panels in a variety of colors (olive green, dark green and natural wood) with metal trim and balconies. Not visible in the render (but seen here), the building comes with a mechanical penthouse designed to resemble the cupola of an Italianate house. The $2,100,791 construction loan for this project comes courtesy of the Chemung Canal Trust Company.

Let's finish this off with a building that's essentially complete. Harold's Holdings (Elmira developer Dave Lubin with Buffalo-based McGuire Development) new 12-story mixed-use project in the heart of Ithaca is basically finished, thanks to LeChase Construction. the project brings 78 apartments, 17,000 square-feet of retail space, and 53,000 square feet of office space to the Ithaca market, in both the new building and the newly-renovated 130 year-old Sage Building next door. According to project spokesperson Vicki Taylor Brous, there are no signed leases for the commercial space yet, but there are many inquiries and negotiations are continuing, if more carefully than usual due to uncertainty with to the COVID situation. (If you want to inquire about apartments or commercial space, the links are on their website here).

The developers had been concerned about Asteri, the 12-story neighbor planned for the Green Street Garage next door, out of fear that it would block views and limit light and air circulation to their south-facing units. After Harold's Holdings initiated a lawsuit, the two developers came to terms where Asteri would reduce it's square footage and pull back from Harold's Square, in return for first dibs on a development site as part of another Lubin project, the Chain Works District on South Hill.

Always a good question, what's next in the pipeline. In the short term we can expect Library Place to resume construction after a nine-month delay due to the COVID shutdown throwing off their contractor schedules (and I have seen filings that do indicate this is in fact resuming construction and not just puffery). With the Collegetown Innovation District under discussion and worries about COVID impacts in 2021, further projects in Collegetown are unlikely apart from a couple smaller proposals already approved (8-unit 238 Dryden Road) or said to be in the works. Cornell will continue to focus on its North Campus expansion, though renovations to Balch Hall and rehabilitation of the Dwyer Dam Bridge will launch in 2021.

On the other hand, Downtown is likely to see quite a bit of action as "The Ithacan" tower and Asteri Ithaca are both likely to start construction in 2021, replacing the Green Street Garage with 381 apartments between them, conference center space, academic space, and a new parking garage publicly accessible from Green Street. The 346-unit State Street Apartments project will also continue to wend its way through the Planning Board as we head into next year. The waterfront and near-waterfront will likely be active as well, as phase one of the Carpenter Park redevelopment (Cayuga Medical's new 5-story building and 42 units of affordable housing, funding pending) begin construction, as well as the first phase of the WaterWorks project. West State could see some activity as well, as Arnot Realty plans to begin work on its mixed-use 430 West State project in the spring.

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Gallery: A look at what's under construction in Ithaca, Part 2 - The Ithaca Voice