ITHACA, N.Y. — While economic uncertainty still looms for many developers, there is still the task of gaining municipal approval from the city of Ithaca, so that when conditions are in better shape, construction may legally commence.
With that in mind, several projects went forward to the city of Ithaca Planning Board Tuesday evening. For those who like to read along, agenda here.
Subdivision Reviews
First up were lot subdivision reviews – these are when property lots in the city, technically known as parcels, seek legal reconfiguration, either to be split up, reshaped or consolidated. This month, there were two, one sough by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services INHS for the Immaculate Conception School redevelopment on West Buffalo Street, and one sought for the shopping plaza on the South Meadow Street retail corridor.
Usually, these subdivision reviews are dry affairs. The INHS subdivision would create a new lot for the former ICS gymnasium so that it can be legally acquired by the city for the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. The second lot would separate the four low-moderate income for-sale townhomes, called “Founder’s Way”, from the 75 affordable rental units; most state and federal affordable housing grants require for-sale and for-rent units to be physically separated, so in case the rental portion’s owners go bankrupt, it doesn’t also affect the homeowners.
As for the second subdivision application, “Lone Cattle LLC”, an entity owned by Texas Roadhouse’s corporate office, recently purchased the three-building shopping plaza at 719-725 South Meadow Street. The proposed subdivision splits each building into its own lot, which can be useful for the management of the properties, and it makes life easier if they want to sell one of the parcels.
The INHS subdivision passed quickly. The South Meadow subdivision also went quickly, after the applicants made clear that access roads would be maintained by property easements (legal agreements), and the Planning Board made a favorable recommendation to the Board of Zoning Appeals to approve the subdivision since there were no physical changes.
Site Plan Review: A Primer
Next on the agenda is the Site Plan Review, where the review of new building proposals happens. The way this typically goes is that, after an initial sketch plan discussion, the board agrees to declare itself Lead Agency, which means it’s in charge of doing the environmental review. Environmental review, formally called State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), entails everything from traffic effects to drainage to historic and aesthetic resource impacts. The board goes through environmental assessment forms to make sure all potential impacts are accounted for, and that the developers have a plan to effectively mitigate any adverse impacts. For example, if you’re paving a parking lot over what was previously vacant land, the board’s going to expect to see some stormwater management features in the project, because neither they nor the city attorney wants to go through a legal battle because rainwater drained off the parking lot and flooded your neighbor’s property.
Typically, once the board has done their months of Q&A and is satisfied with the mitigations proposed, they issue what’s called a “negative declaration”, meaning the adverse impacts are effectively addressed. Positive declarations result in Environmental Impact Statements for submittal and review, and make for a much lengthier and more complicated review process. They usually only come up where there’s simply too much information to be reviewed at a meeting – huge projects like Chain Works and the Cornell North Campus Residential Expansion. With the negative declaration, the project can then be considered for preliminary and final site plan approval. Preliminary approval means there are a few minor changes or conditions that need to be met before final approval and building permits can be granted.
Carpenter Park
First on the list was the Carpenter Circle project as proposed by Cayuga Medical Center and Park Grove Realty. CMC would occupy a new 64,000 square-foot medical office building with walk-in clinic, two buildings with ground-floor retail and 166 market-rate apartments would be built in the second phase, and a low-moderate income apartment building with 42 units would follow. You can read more about the plan here. The project’s been going through review for over a year, in part because it sought and received approval for a Planned Unit Development, specialized zoning regulations from the city. Tonight was further into the environmental review.
Discussion focused around traffic (a proposed roundabout was removed for safety concerns involving access from Route 13), revised sidewalks, bike lanes and pedestrian refuge spaces when crossing Route 13. Three-way and four-way intersections involving Fifth Street are still under consideration and being discussed with the Ithaca Common Council. Board member Mitch Glass had questions for the team regarding parking garage visibility, to which the team discussed screening in the form of architectural “louvers”. The board didn’t vote on environmental review, but seemed satisfied with the results so far. A negative declaration could come next month, with potential preliminary approval not long after.
City Harbor
Second up was the City Harbor project, a couple blocks away at 101 Pier Road. As previously detailed, the two-phase project consists of a restaurant, waterfront promenade and marina, and 156 market-rate apartments. The project is the brainchild of Edger Enterprises, Lambrou Real Estate and Morse Project Management. A 60,000 square-foot medical office building for Guthrie Clinic is part of the project, but that project is still being fleshed out by Guthrie and will be reviewed separately. City Harbor has started site preparation (dredging for boats), but tonight it was still finishing up environmental review.
The discussion here also focused on traffic, including the redesign of the intersection of Willow Street, Dey Street and Route 13. Attention was also given for striping and signage of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. The board made clear that pedestrian refuge islands in the median of Route 13 were desirable, given the width of the road. While progress in review of the Environmental Assessment Forms was made, more is yet to be reviewed, especially with transportation impacts – and in April, hopefully there will be some new renderings of the promenade and other pedestrian features, to show what things look like from eye level.
The Aeroplane Factory
Next on the list was the mixed-use additions for the Aeroplane Factory on Taber and Brindley Streets, covered here.
While it covers a bevy of uses (retail, office and five apartments), smaller-scale projects like this tend to move through the board more quickly. Here, the project was coming back after the initial sketch plan critique, and was seeking the board to declare itself lead agency.
Believe it or not, the project presentations on Zoom were actually quite smooth and easy to see, which is a small comfort in these socially-distanced times. Architect Jason Demarest led the board through a walkthrough of the project, including some new renders. Planning Director JoAnn Cornish remarked that it was curious that more of the apartments faced the road rather than the waterfront, to which Demarest responded was a choice of solar access.
“I love this site and I like what you’re doing with it,” said planning board member McKenzie Jones-Rounds, a sentiment shared by much of the board. Jones-Rounds did encourage more green space instead of parking if feasible, and there was some debate on aligning “Taber Tower” more with the street, or keeping it aligned with neighboring structures. Planning board members Mitch Glass and Emily Petrina also suggested tweaking the balconies and fire escape on the four-story building. The board voted unanimously to declare itself lead agency, and completed some environmental review before tying it off for further review next month.
Cornell Chabad Center
Number four is a project new to the Voice, and there were plans for an article (that got waylaid by COVID). Cornell’s Chabad (ha-BAHD) Center, servicing students of Jewish faith, submitted plans for a two-story, 5,000 square-foot addition to their Tudor mansion on the corner of Willard Way and Lake Street. The plans include new kitchen and dining room space, classrooms, ceremonial baths called mikvahs, and covered ground-level parking. The project is seeking a declaration of lead agency so that the board can commence environmental review in April.
This project also involved a Jason Demarest presentation. The building would face the street with traditional materials complementing the tudor – brick screening, half-timbers, stucco-like finishes and simulated slate roof eaves. It would replace the existing house (Demarest noted the house is free if someone wants to hire movers and cart it to another site). The new build would address issues of overcrowding and difficulties in servicing the Chabad Center’s functions. “It’s a big investment, (and) it’s long overdue for them,” said Demarest.
The board was favorable to the proposal. “I think you’ve done a really nice job with the siting. The materiality and the design looks contextual and high-quality,” said board member Matt Johnston. Members thought the brick screening detail was a nice touch. There was some mild concern about dumpster locations and paved spaces. The board unanimously declared itself lead agency for the proposal before moving on to the next item.
Asteri Ithaca
Last under the SPRs is a project for which many keys have been types at the Voice, the Asteri Ithaca Green Street Garage redevelopment at 120 East Green Street. The number of aesthetic changes are substantial enough that it probably deserves its own article, so keep an eye out. The Planning Board is less concerned about the finances and programmatic components, and more with the design of the new structures, namely the 218-unit low-moderate income apartment building with commercial space on the lower levels, and the design of the new garage next door.
Bruce Adib-Yazdi, Vecino’s in-house architect for the project, explained that the project is still ongoing, even with the economic issues rising due to COVID. Meetings continue and work on design elements for the parking garage portion continues. More programmatic aspects are still being hashed out with the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency. Kate Chesebrough of Whitham Planning and Design walked the board through proposed landscaping features – benches, lighting, pavers, plantings and the like. The project team made clear that it is now confirmed that the conference center will be a part of the project, and so the first, second and third floors are likely to change substantially in the coming weeks. It was less project review and more “here’s what will be coming to your board soon”.
Board members were warm to the proposal and encouraged street-level perspectives to understand what the ground level will look like, especially the alleys. “It’s a grand and ambitious project for the city, and I look forward to it overall. But it’s really the alleys and the massing on the Commons side that I look forward to working with you on,” said Johnston. Petrina said she liked the rounded entry on Green Street, feeling it was more inviting into the alley to the Commons. Glass strongly encouraged “innovative” design approaches to the aesthetics of the new Green Street Garage.
“I think you’ve gotten a fair amount of feedback and people have definitely identified their concerns,” said board chair Robert Lewis. He expressed optimism for smooth and positive discussions moving forward. The board voted unanimously to declare itself lead agency.
Board of Zoning Appeals Recommendations
On the Board of Zoning Appeals side, where the board makes recommendation to the BZA on projects seeking zoning variances from city code, the board reviewed signage submissions for Maguire’s Ford-Lincoln dealership on South Meadow Street, the Old Navy planned for South Meadow Square, and the previously covered subdivision for the Texas Roadhouse plaza.
The board was ambivalent to the Maguire signage, and Planning Director Cornish stated that there are mandates from the corporate brands, and while sign ordinances are there for a reason, it’s an important part of the car sales business. The board didn’t want to speak against the variance and understood the business need, but wanted to make clear there were not a fan of the appearance, finding it excessive. The board also had some mild reservations about the Old Navy signage, but given the location, weren’t too bothered by it.
Briefly, the board discussed new members, as one position is vacant and a second will soon be with Johnston’s purchase of a new home outside the city – and you have to be a city resident to sit on the board. Former member and current Lansing town planner C.J. Randall has been nominated for one of the spaces, and a nominee has been recommended for the other vacant slot.