Ithaca's largest shopping mall (actually in suburban Lansing) is expanding.
Article from the Lansing Star (on-line):
Ithaca Mall Builds 82K Sq. Foot Retail Store
by Dan Veaner
Friday, 02 April 2010
Representatives of Triax Management Group, L.L.C. presented a plan Tuesday that will bring an 82,000 square foot stand-alone retail building to the Shops at Ithaca Mall, as well as a bird sanctuary and housing for seniors. The project will be built on land the company owns between the mall and Oakcrest Road in the Village of Lansing. Village Trustees and Planning Board members held a joint meeting to consider the project and whether it will become the first Planned Development Area (PDA) since a new law was passed allowing such plans earlier this year.
"As we all know it's been a difficult time in the economy for everybody, especially retail," said Triax Principal Partner Eric Goetzmann. "We were able to find a retailer and convince them that the Village of Lansing in Tompkins County is the right place to be because there are consumers here that are looking for their goods. We spent over a year finding a way to take no and turn it into a yes."
Goetzmann says he can't reveal the name of the retailer yet, and that the company will make its own announcement when its management feels the time is right. When the store does move in there will be a new 82,000 square foot commercial building, about 2/3 the size of the mall's Target store. New parking lots will accommodate 340 cars. The new lots will be tied into the mall's existing ring road. Triax's Director of Construction James Bold said that the new store should have about the same truck delivery traffic as Target.
The land comprises a little over ten acres directly north of the shopping center, and west of the Ithaca YMCA. Goetzmann said that the tenant has rolled out a new prototype for their stores that requires a free-standing building. He said that they only build a couple per year and that negotiations led to the current plan as opposed to another store attached to the existing mall building.
"The original intention was to use it as an extension of the existing core of the shopping center," he said. "We've had numerous discussions with people about what happens to the shopping center so we don't end up on deadmalls.com. We've made a lot of changes with great input from people in the community."
Bold shows planning board members the new plan
An area of wetlands behind the YMCA will be preserved on 1.4 acres of the the site. Bold worked with consultants including the Army Corps of Engineers, Terrestrial Environmental Specialists (a consulting firm in Phoenix, NY), and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to plan the enhancement of the existing wetlands into a bird habitat and to expand that area to make up for another quarter of an acre that is currently a wetland.
A 20 foot buffer strip between apartments and the wetland will be maintained as an ever-wild area. It will be planted with native grasses that will be free to grow wild. Heavy tree and shrub plantings will provide a place for birds to live, nest, and find food and water. Bold says that the area today is a low-quality drainage path. It will also create a wildlife corridor, connecting to existing wooded land. A walking bridge and an extension of the sidewalk leading to the Ithaca YMCA is being considered to create and enhance walking trails.
"It becomes a vital part of the project," Bold said. "It enhances the community by enhancing the habitat and attracting more wildlife."
About 200 native trees will be planted, with the expectation that at least 50 will survive. They will be supplied by Dryden's RPM Ecosystems, LLC. Varieties include common elderberry, nannyberry, northern white cedar, red maple, bur oak, arrowwood viburnum, bur oak, eastern white pine, silky dogwood, redosier dogwood, speckled alder, swamp white oak, and highbush cranberry.
The elder housing will consist of four buildings with three two-bedroom living units in each. Goetzmann says that residents will be able to walk to anyplace they need for shopping in the area. The residences will be buffered from store traffic and light by the trees, including evergreens. He noted that they will help fill a need for housing in Tompkins County, and that it will be targeted to residents 55 years old and up.
"Our job is to make sure we have the right retail to keep consumers in Tompkins County," Goetzmann said. "By bringing an additional resource that will fill a need, it further increases the viability of what we've had for the past 30 years."
Earlier this year Village Trustees adding a Planned Development Area (PDA) provision to their zoning law. The law allows Trustees to approve developments of five acres or more that go outside the boundaries of current zoning. Projects would be subject to review by the Trustees and the Planning Board, which would be empowered to require strict conditions on a special use project.
Trustees voted to provisionally allow the project to go forward. The next step is for the developer and the Planning Board to work out details of the project, with Trustees becoming involved along the way and ultimately approving it. Goetzmann said that he would like to start construction as soon as possible once the construction season begins next month.
http://www.lansingstar.com/content/view/6004/77/