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  #1641  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2014, 5:51 PM
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Found a video about Collegetown Terrace complex. Seems promotional and shows some of the completed buildings. The project is on its way toward completion.

Video Link
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  #1642  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2014, 2:29 AM
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The long nightmare appears to be over, Collegetown zoning changes have passed. Let's see if this results in in some decent new development. From the Ithaca Journal:


Under the rezoning for Collegetown Ithaca Common Council approved Wednesday, the parking requirements would be waived for the two multi-use districts that would be created, including this section of College Avenue north of Cook Street. SIMON WHEELER / STAFF PHOTO / SIMON WHEELER / STAFF PHOTO

Ithaca Common Council passes Collegetown zoning measure
Form districts tackle aims of 2009 redevelopment plan

7:12 PM, Mar 6, 2014
Written by
David Hill

ITHACA — Applause broke out in the room when Common Council unanimously voted to adopt a new type of zoning for much of Collegetown that has been several years in the making.
The vote Wednesday evening came after nearly an hour of discussion about possible amendments, primarily adding to the intent section a goal of promoting affordable housing. But the council ended up making no more amendments, reaching an effective consensus that affordability is a good goal but largely beyond the scope of Collegetown zoning.
The ordinance adopted by council amends the city’s zoning code to establish Collegetown area form districts. The new section blends traditional zoning with form-based zoning governing items such as roof pitch, porches, glazing and size of plain, bare exteriors and street setbacks, along with height limits and parking rules.
The rezoning is intended to carry out the 2009 Collegetown Urban Plan and Conceptual Design Guidelines, adopted by Common Council that year to guide redevelopment of the neighborhood. The area is the city’s most dense and contains some of its most valuable property but is also filled with many old buildings divided into student apartments and widely considered not as safe and energy efficient as new construction.
Some council members expressed hope, too, that by encouraging denser development through measures such as allowing more of lots to be built on, more total apartments will be added, easing a Collegetown vacancy rate Fourth-Ward Alderman Steve Smith said remains one-half of 1 percent.
Several people spoke before council voted on the plan. Most supported the proposal, even if they thought it wasn’t perfect, while some called for holding off to specifically address affordability and energy efficiency.
“The result has been ... a balance between multiple goods, particularly those who are very concerned about preserving neighborhoods on the periphery of Collegetown and those concerned about promoting more development in the center of Collegetown,” said former Fourth Ward alderman and longtime Planning and Development Board member John Schroeder.
Others expressed concern about how the new rules affect certain streets and blocks, particularly calling for larger development on Linden Avenue. The street is in a form district intended to be medium-density with buildings up to four stories tall and serve as a transition between taller mixed-use and residential blocks.
John Graves of South Hill bemoaned a lack of specific affordable-housing language and unfavorably likened the adoption to a move in the 1960s to redevelop a block of Green Street as urban renewal.
“Micromanaging development through local codes and zoning requirements, if you are not careful, can limit the supply of innovative housing,” he said.
Cornell University student Max Weisbrod sought affordable-housing language but welcomed the change as potentially helping improve housing costs and quality. He said former single-family homes now have as many as 13 renters charged $700 a month each, often outdated and with poor maintenance.
“We need legal space for developers to profitably redevelop. We need to reduce the pressure for students to live further away from campus, causing disruptions and ill will in neighboring communities,” he told council. “We need to create a vibrant and walkable neighborhood that can offer our residents and neighbors and residents services and amenities that they need to live healthily and without cars.”
Among those endorsing the change were Historic Ithaca Executive Director Alphonse Pieper and Nathan Lyman, a city resident speaking for himself and major landlord Jason Fane.
A rezoning plan was successfully challenged by owners of affected property in 2011 over a provision in which developers could pay the city in lieu of providing parking. The ending of minimum parking requirements has been the most contentious issue, with proponents saying parking drives up costs and opponents fearing more spillover parking on adjacent residential streets. But the city has a residential parking permit system for some blocks near Collegetown and is adjusting its Dryden Road garage rates in hopes of boosting usage, and that objection has diminished.
Collegetown resident and landlord Steve Fontana told council only a quarter of his tenants now bring cars, down from a third 10 years ago.
Under the new zoning, the parking requirements are waived for the two new multi-use districts and, subject to approved parking-management plans, for new construction in the CR-4 multi-family residential district, the one on Linden Avenue.
The MU-1 district is to be along College Avenue between Catherine and Bool streets, and the MU-2 district centered on the College Avenue-Dryden Road corner, the heart of Collegetown. The mixed-use 1 district allows five stories and 70 feet, and the MU-2 six stories and 80 feet; both requirements would have to be met.

Here's the link:
http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...zoning-measure
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  #1643  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2014, 11:49 PM
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An article from the Cornell Sun regarding one of the major (if not most loved) landlords in Collegetown:

Businesses Allege Ithaca Renting Company Drives Tenants Away Through "Horrible Leases"

MARCH 10, 2014 1:05 AM

By SARAH CUTLER


Collegetown in recent years has seen an increasing number of shuttered stores and restaurants, and in nearly all of these vacant spaces — which include the Green Café and the former Pita Pit — hang signs for the Ithaca Renting Company. According to some Collegetown business owners, this is no coincidence.


The vacant Green Cafe on College Avenue is one of several properties that the Ithaca Renting Company owns. (Dylan Clemens / Sun Staff Photographer)



These business owners have alleged that by charging high rent prices, offering leases unfavorable to business owners and misleading some potential tenants, Ithaca Renting and its manager Jason Fane have contributed significantly to the number of empty storefronts.

Most recently, in January, commercial Collegetown saw the closure of The Gates — an Ithaca Renting property on Eddy Street — whose owner, Marian Flaxman ’08, claims the company misled her.

When she moved in 2012 from running Culture Shock — the live music venue on the Ithaca Commons that she rented from Fane — to owning The Gates, Flaxman was pleased to find that in the space above The Gates was a restaurant with hours that would not coincide with the times her venue would operate. Residents of the apartment building above Culture Shock had filed noise complaints against her, which she said is the primary reason she sought out a new location.

But she said she soon learned that The Gates shared a wall with apartments. Two months after opening, Flaxman found herself embroiled in a lawsuit with Fane over new noise complaints.

“Fane sued me and tried to evict me,” Flaxman said. “I even asked, when I [first] looked at the space, what was behind that wall, and [the agent] said it was storage. When you rent a space and invest in the space, you plan on being there for a long time and having a good relationship with your landlord. When he sues you as soon as you open, he violates your trust.”

Fane, however, said in an email that Flaxman “admits she is in violation of her lease,” which is specific about the noise level she is permitted to make. He added, though, that the leasing agent who worked with Flaxman has since been fired, since Fane believed he was “dishonest in many ways.”

‘Oppressive rent and horrible leases’

Fane’s major commercial Collegetown properties include Collegetown Center, Collegetown Court and Collegetown Plaza on Dryden Road. In addition to properties in Toronto and New York City, Fane owns more than $38 million in assessed Collegetown real estate, making him one of the largest landowners in Collegetown, The Sun reported in May.

The high rent Fane charges for Ithaca Renting spaces discourages many potential tenants from doing business with him, according to Brad Weiss MMH ’03, the owner of Level B and the president of the Tompkins County Restaurant and Tavern Association.

“Oppressive rent and horrible leases keep most savvy businesspeople, including myself, away from renting from Jason,” Weiss said. “You’d have to believe in a miracle to sign some of those leases.”

Though Weiss is not a tenant of Ithaca Renting, he claims he was misled years ago when attempting to rent a space from the company. When Weiss asked about obtaining a liquor license for the Masonic Temple on Cayuga Street, which he hoped to rent, one of Fane’s agents told Weiss he’d have “no problem” getting the license, Weiss said.

But when Weiss called City, police and New York State Liquor Authority officials to confirm this claim, he was told the building was unlikely to get a license due to past owners’ legal problems in the space. Weiss said he avoided signing a lease on the space.

“When you go to the landlord, you expect the person is going to be looking out for your interests and trying to help your business — not saying that you’re a novice, and that’s why you failed,” Weiss said.

John Yengo, the Ithaca Renting agent who showed Weiss the property, said in an email that he did not remember showing Weiss the property and that Ithaca Renting agents leave licensing issues to liquor licensing agencies.

Fane said he did not hear, and thus could not comment on, the conversation between Weiss and Yengo, but did add that in his observations over the last 30 years, applicants who complied with the state’s requirements for a liquor license were typically able to get one.

“If you don’t try, you can’t succeed” at getting a liquor license, he said.

Other current and former tenants of Ithaca Renting said it is Fane’s business practices that make it difficult to run a successful business in his properties. Mark Kielmann ’72, owner of The Nines on College Avenue and a Fane tenant from 1976 to 2005 at The Chariot on Eddy Street, said Fane’s leases have become “increasingly complicated” over the years, growing from around four pages to almost 25 pages.

“We only had two leases [at The Chariot] — really long ones — and the second one was way more complicated than the first one,” Kielmann said. “I think, in some ways, Jason is playing the game of business — he knows his business very, very well. A lot of unassuming young people come expecting someone to be straightforward with them, and that doesn’t happen.”

Yet on a drive through Collegetown and the Commons, Fane pointed to numerous empty storefronts owned by other landlords as evidence that Ithaca Renting is not the only company having trouble filling spaces. Fane said several of his tenants, including the Souvlaki House, Sangam and the Vietnam Restaurant, are examples of success stories.

“If you go through Collegetown, you’ll see some businesses that have been there for many decades, while others come and go,” he said. “The conclusion I’ve come to is if someone wants to run a restaurant, he should know how to do that, and not just how to run a kitchen.”

Indeed, Annie Quach ’05, the general manager of the Vietnam Restaurant, said her parents — the restaurant’s owners — have had a good relationship with Fane since they moved their business to one of his spaces on Dryden Road more than 20 years ago.


The Gates — a former Collegetown restaurant and bar — closed in January and is one of the properties owned by the Ithaca Renting Company. (Connor Archard / Sun Sports Photography Editor)



“My family’s experience with him has always been positive, and we’ve always had a healthy relationship,” Quach said. “This business is my family’s livelihood, and I think everyone involved is doing something right, because it’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”

She noted, though, that it is difficult to compare established businesses like her family’s with new businesses, since leases, rent prices and the business atmosphere in Collegetown have changed over the years.

A tough business environment

Fane emphasized the importance of having “some amount of vacancy” and turnover in a healthy economy to allow entrepreneurs opportunities to open new businesses. And the businesses that fail in his spaces, he argues, largely fail because of the owners’ lack of experience.

“There’s a problem with people who are chefs, but not businessmen,” he said. “The guy in the kitchen maybe doesn’t know how to market a restaurant, or talk to a customer — that’s a different skill.”

Fane added that brick-and-mortar businesses on the whole are changing because of increased online shopping, which drives businesses like video stores and bookstores off the market. In addition, excessive retail space contributes to retail vacancy nationwide, he said.

“There is high retail vacancy all over the country because there is too much retail space,” he said. “If you drive around other neighborhoods than Collegetown, you will see plenty of vacancy. If you go to some other upstate cities, such as Syracuse and Utica, you will see horrendous vacancy rates.”

Others observe that Collegetown is a tough place to do business for myriad reasons outside of a landlord’s control: the national economic downturn, an uptick in online shopping and business owners’ difficulty in making ends meet when students are away several months out of the year.

Prof. Stephani Robson ’88 M.S. ’99 Ph.D ’10, properties development and management, said she discourages students in her Restaurant Development course from opening eateries in Collegetown. She said the problems she sees in Collegetown are “systematic” and can not be traced to any one landlord.

“Collegetown is an extremely difficult place to do business because you have a 32- or 36-week window to make money,” she said. “Costs are high, and for restaurants, margins are low.”

Because Ithaca is a small community, its colleges are the “big demand generators,” she added, and when colleges are not in session, a chronic lack of parking discourages locals from patronizing Collegetown.

“It’s a double-whammy,” she said.

Kalam Blessing, the owner of Pita Pit on Dryden Road from 2009 until it closed in 2012, said most of the difficulties he faced in business stemmed not from Ithaca Renting itself but from the number of slow months in Collegetown — when school was not in session and students were not around. However, Blessing did add that Fane’s steep rent made it more difficult to keep afloat.

“I know that other companies’ rents are a lot lower,” Blessing said. “In my first year of business, we had the second-highest growth in sales out of all the stores in the Pita Pit franchise, and we were still struggling. There’s something there that’s not right.”

Though he listed better locations, larger store size, higher ceilings and other characteristics of his properties as “some of the factors” that lead to higher rates, Fane would not disclose what he charges his tenants for rent. Fane said he does not know what rent other landlords charge or why his tenants believe that their rents are higher than that of other companies.

“I don’t get into [tenants’] feelings, and there is no psychologist on my staff,” he said. “Maybe some tenants are upset because their taxes and other expenses have gone up. Maybe they decide they’d rather do something else than running a retail business. Maybe they don’t realize how expensive it is for a landlord to make retail space appear.”

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 cited the businesses that have rented for decades from Ithaca Renting as evidence that it is possible to be successful as one of the company’s tenants. But he noted that the city is not “blind to the realities” of renting from Jason Fane.

“We know the terms of those leases are extremely difficult for new businesses, with high rents and strict terms. Frankly, the rent is too high,” Myrick said. “The city government historically has not had a positive relationship with [Fane].”

However, Myrick says he has made it a “priority” to improve this relationship.

“The city is not always happy with every decision [Fane] makes, and he’s probably not happy with every decision we make, but we talk,” Myrick said. “It’s clear he cares deeply about the city; this is where he got his start as a businessman. I’ve made it clear that the city would appreciate whatever he could do to make his properties more tenant-friendly, especially for new businesses just trying to get their legs under them.”



Here's an interesting ownership attachment:

http://infogr.am/who-owns-collegetown?src=web


The article link:

http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/03/1...rrible-leases/
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  #1644  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2014, 4:43 PM
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As I noted before, the old Emerson plant site is being considered for a major mixed use site (see post # 1579 in this thread). Here's an update from the Ithaca Journal:


Mixed-use plan envisioned for Emerson site
Developer exploring offices, manufacturing, business-incubator and housing uses



4:50 PM, Mar 16, 2014

Written by
David Hill

A developer exploring how to redevelop the former Emerson factory site straddling the city-town line on South Hill is calling the project he has in mind the Chain Works District, and it would have a mix of office, manufacturing, business-incubator, apartments and commercial space.

David Lubin was before the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency last Thursday to ask that some of the money returned by Emerson, the St. Louis-based industrial conglomerate that formerly ran the plant, for shutting down the plant in late 2010 after receiving tax breaks in 2003 as an incentive for moving work and jobs to the site.

The IDA had designated some of Emerson’s reimbursement toward redeveloping the site, and Lubin wrote to the IDA seeking $84,522 out of $370,301 Emerson agreed to pay in reimbursements for taxabatements, plus interest. In a letter to the IDA board, he said the money would be used to help pay for studies of traffic, parking, and circulation and surveying necessary to make a master plan and and for environmental and site-plan reviews to come.

Lubin is still in the feasibility-study stage with the Emerson site, with its 100-year-old plant that looms over the southern side of Ithaca from Danby Road..

Lubin’s pitch was that the fully developed site could get private investment of $100 million, or more, over 15 years and create 1,000 jobs in the regional economy.

The plan he’s working on would redevelop about 700,000 square feet of the 95-plus acre site. Some sections would be demolished to separate the buildings, improve the views, provide green and public spaces and improve pedestrian and vehicle traffic within the site.

He told the board he has obtained contractual site control in January. “Since that time I have invested over $750,000 in the preliminary review and environmental testing to fully understand the environmental and development complexities involved in redeploying this signature Ithaca landmark,” he wrote in a letter to the IDA board.

“The project is envisioned as the creation of an exemplary ‘work, live and play’ complex that leverages the existing vibrancy and quality of life in Ithaca,” he wrote in the letter.
It will take 10 to 15 years, but the project could lure small companies that then grow and move to larger spaces in the complex or elsewhere, Lubin contended. He said it can also attract talent interested in urban-style mixed-use development.

Lubin declined to comment on the project last week.

How much of the money from Emerson the IDA has available toward helping redevelopment is in dispute. The Ithaca City School District has objected to how the reimbursements were calculated. The IDA based its reimbursements on the amount each locality would have gotten in taxes had the abatements to Emerson were not in place plus interest at the then-prevailing rate, but the ICSD sought a rate reflecting the higher interest rate that was charged to the company under the IDA’s policy. The difference is about $40,000.

The taxing jurisdictions are Tompkins County, the city and town of Ithaca, and the school district. The state also was reimbursed for a portion of abated sales taxes. The IDA board agreed to discuss the matter at its April meeting.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...d-Emerson-site




Image is property of Welch Construction Inc.
Picture of the site (thanks to Visiteur)
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  #1645  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2014, 10:22 AM
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Tompkins County property values increase (from the Ithaca Journal).
I guess some property owners aren't too pleased with new assessments:


The Shops at Ithaca Mall in Lansing, assessed at $45.7 million, is the second most valuable property in Tompkins County. It's execeded only by Cayuga Operating Plant, valued at $60 million. The mall is shown in a 2011 file photo. / FILE PHOTO


Tompkins assessed value grows $199.2M

6:09 PM, Mar 19, 2014
Written by
Andrew Casler

ITHACA — With Tompkins County’s taxable value increased by $199.2 million under the preliminary 2014 tax roll, the county assessment department is holding meetings with tax parcel owners who dispute their reassessments.

Informal assessment review meetings are running through March 28, a tentative assessment role will be released on May 1 and formal grievances of assessed property values are scheduled from May 1 to May 27, Tompkins County Director of Assessment Jay Franklin said.
Assessments are at the point where property owners can present information for the county to take into account, Franklin said.
“We rely on the property owners, if that (assessment) is incorrect, to let us know about it so we can take new information into account and revalue their property more appropriately,” Franklin said.
It’s not too late to make an appointment for an informal assessment review, he said.
People who want their assessments lowered should bring information on problems with their property, such as major repairs that are needed or poor insulation, Franklin said. If a property owner does not present any information regarding the market value of their property, no consideration will be given to the appeal.
Solely complaining that taxes are too high won’t result in a lower assessment, Franklin added.
“We can help with the value of the property, but taxes are outside of the realm of this department,” Franklin said.
Preliminary figures show that the total value of Tompkins County has increased to $11.2 billion, up 1.82 percent, from 2013.
Franklin said that the assessors focused on properties in the City of Ithaca, mobile homes, apartments and pocket neighborhoods across Tompkins. The pocket neighborhoods were in villages and the Ellis Hollow area, he said.
Franklin said that apartment values increased significantly. “The closer to Cornell, obviously the more valuable they become,” Franklin said.
He added that at the end of January, there wasn’t a single multi-family house in the City of Ithaca that was for sale, according to the Ithaca Landlords Association.
Landlords Association of Tompkins County President Herb Dwyer said that property taxes are the second highest operating expense for landlords in the county. The highest expense is the mortgage, he added.
Local landlords get concerned when their assessments go up, Dwyer said.
“The landlords association did a study a few years ago, and it found on average for every dollar a tenant pays out, 22 cents goes to pay for taxes,” Dwyer said.
Mobile home values were also in flux, Franklin said.
“The newer double wides we saw go up in value, but then the older single wides went down in value.”
The most valuable taxable property in the county remains Lansing’s coal-fired power plant Cayuga Operating Plant, valued at $60 million. The second most valuable property is The Shops at Ithaca in Lansing, according to Franklin, which is worth about $45.7 million.
For county taxes, Tompkins residents will see their property tax rate set at $6.89 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2014.
A median-priced home in Tompkins assessed at $163,000 will have a county property tax bill of $1,123, which is $14.89 more than in 2013.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...e-grows-199-2M
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  #1646  
Old Posted Mar 21, 2014, 10:26 PM
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Here's an entry in the Downtown Ithaca Alliance blog about some new stores:

http://downtownith.com/2014/03/21/do...cayuga-street/

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  #1647  
Old Posted Mar 22, 2014, 3:41 PM
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An article from the Ithaca Times regarding the direction of downtown:


By Bill Chaisson
Jim Merod at 144 The Commons
Emma Lou Sheikh, former owner of the building is at right.



Defining downtown Ithaca and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance
Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12:00 am
By Bill Chaisson editor@ithacatimes.com |

Downtown Ithaca is in the process of becoming a neighborhood. Again. Developer Jim Merod is renovating 144 The Commons—above Mockingbird Paperie—to put three apartments each into the second and third floors, and he has added a fourth floor of living space to create a penthouse that covers the entire level.
Merod and his crew have stripped the century-old building to its supporting walls, joists, and pillars (in some cases replacing them) and framed out the units. On Monday, March 17 he led the board of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance on a tour through the nearly empty premises pointing out what he had already done—added a shaft for an elevator, mapped out the floor plans for the studios and one-bedroom apartments—and describing what he intends to do—add granite counters here and sliding partitions there.
In order to give his visitors a feeling for the quality of his vision and workmanship, Merod first showed the board what he had done with the former Shalimar and Ithacards spaces at the ground level, and he concluded the tour in the offices of architect John Snyder in the back of the building, a project he finished in April 2013 (see Dialynn Dwyer’s article at ithaca.com).
Merod’s modus operandi is to strip a building down to its elements, preserve what can be saved and restore it, and then rebuild the rest with materials that respect the age and mood of the property. In both the old Shalimar and the Snyder offices he had uncovered a pressed-tin ceiling and repainted it. He removed plaster and paint from the brick perimeter interior walls of the building to expose the rough surfaced framing that holds the masonry together and then covered the surfaces with a protective coating.
“We used water-based polyurethane in the back [in the architecture office], but that’s already peeling,” said Merod. “We try to be … green, but … so we used regular polyurethane in [Mockingbird].” He got permission from his tenant, John Snyder to allow the DIA to hold its board meeting in the back office, a soaring space with the back third going up two floors and a deep gallery on the second level stuffed with tables and computers for the staff.
• • •
DIA Executive Director Gary Ferguson led off the meeting with a financial report that indicated that the recent Chili Cookoff would break even in spite of the intensely cold weather on the date of the event. The Commons renovation project, he said, is now behind schedule, but DIA’s mitigation budget extends only to July, the original estimated completion date. Ferguson indicated that his staff would carry on as if the project were going to finish on time.
The executive director then gave a presentation that he described as a combination of two that he ordinarily gives separately. In the first part he summarized the various roles played by DIA in the downtown business improvement district (BID) and in the second he listed for his board the five different models for downtown organizations. These overviews were delivered in advance of the DIA annual meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 24 at the Hotel Ithaca (former Holiday Inn).
DIA, he said, does not do development, but facilitiates it, citing Cayuga Place and Cayuga Green II as recent examples. “We also help with project formulation,” he said, “helping people to think about the form of project.” Here he cited the Argos Inn and the Marriott Hotel. The former opened in January and, according to Ferguson, the latter has all of its financing and permits completed, and they will be “in the ground” this spring at the juncture of Green and State streets (adjacent to the Green Street parking garage and the Rothschild Building). “This project was never not going to happen,” said Ferguson. “Mr. Marriott was always behind it.”
David Lubin, a member of the board, reported that he is still searching for tenants to occupy the office space in his planned Harold Square project at the other end of the Green Street parking garage. He needs to pre-lease either 30,000 square feet or two 15,000 square-foot offices.
Ferguson outlined the definitions of five models of downtown organization—data managment, business referral, case management, pre-development facilitator, and default developer—emphasizing that there is no one correct approach. A city should have the model appropriate to community conditions. The DIA operates largely on the case management model. When a business comes to them, they vet the candidates, and they are found to be an acceptable potential addition to the downtown community, the DIA helps them become a part of it.
The executive director wished to make clear which model Downtown Ithaca follows and asked his board to consider whether they would like to continue in that mode or change.
Associate Director Vicki Taylor Brous introduced the board to a twin campaign to raise money to close the gap between The Commons renovation budget and its cost. The $17 million project must raise an additional $1.9 million and DIA has broken the undertaking into two segments. The community campaign will attempt to raise $250,000 for a playground ($75,000), planters ($60,000) and “animal tracks” ($9,000), which are currently beyond the budget (although that, Brous noted, is subject to revision). DIA is also looking to add items like a Bryant Park-style outdoor reading room, kiosks, and holiday lighting.
Larger projects, like a fountain ($540,000), gateways ($223,000), granite pavers ($900,000) and news boxes ($24,000), represent a separate fundraising effort (a total of $1.7 million) that will go on largely outside the public view. The campaign kicks off on April 2. A decision about the fountain must be made before April 30.
A “Downtown Living” tour is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. Lanyards will be available at the visitors’ center on The Commons and free food and other amenities will be distributed at several businesses as a demonstration as to what is available to downtown residents. •


Here's the link:

http://www.ithaca.com/news/defining-...a4bcf887a.html
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  #1648  
Old Posted Mar 22, 2014, 3:47 PM
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This sounds rather similar to one of the new stores mentioned in post # 1646 above. From the Cornell Daily Sun:


New Ithaca Studio Will Provide Space For Wine and Art

MARCH 21, 2014 1:00 AM

By SUSHMITHA KRISHNAMOORTHY


Uncorked Creations — a new downtown art studio and local business opening on April 6 — will offer customers the opportunity to create art while enjoying wine and music in a “relaxed environment”, according to Alise Pierson, owner of the studio.

“People sign up for a particular painting class and bring their wine bottles,” Pierson said. “We provide wine glasses, bottle openers [and] all the materials for the painting, and there will be an instructor to guide them through the painting step by step.”

According to Pierson, the studio — located on Tioga Street — will offer adult painting sessions, children painting classes, studio space and art instructors for private parties, children’s birthdays and events like baby showers.

“We get a vast range of ages in the painting studies. We’re going for a lot of locals and families looking for a different night out,” said Jacqueline Freeman, the studio’s manager. “Everyone can do it. It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw a straight line or a circle. You can do it. People are so amazed and proud after it.”

Pierson opened the first branch of Uncorked Creations in Binghamton, N.Y. in August. Upon the success of the business in Binghamton, she said she decided to open another store.

“I was looking at many different places. But Ithaca is so artsy, and the crowd is open to such ideas. The energy here is so good, so I decided to locate the studio here,” Pierson said.

Freeman added that Uncorked Creations is unique because it is an independent business.

“We’re not a big corporate business,” she said. “We’re local people, hiring local people, trying to entertain the local people. We have hired an Ithaca College student, and as we grow, we’ll hire more local artists. We really push that we’re a local business and be part of the community.”

Both Freeman and Pierson also highlighted their interest in collaborating with other local businesses in the area.

“We’re also in talks with The Cellar Door in the Commons. We’ll work with them to try and provide discounts for wine at the studio,” Freeman said. “We’re going to reach out to the community around us.”

Uncorked Creations is a part of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, First Friday Art Walks and the Chamber of Commerce, according to Freeman.

“We want Uncorked Creations to be welcoming and almost like home,” Pierson said. “People at [the] Binghamton [location] feel very relaxed at the studio. We have many regular customers there and hope people will welcome it as they do in Binghamton.”

Here's the link:

http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/03/2...-wine-and-art/
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  #1649  
Old Posted Mar 22, 2014, 11:08 PM
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I saw this a while back, but wasn't sure whether to post it. What the heck. It's a rap video about Ithaca.....not bad, but there is a nice tour of the city and its sights. Hope you enjoy:

Video Link
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Old Posted Apr 1, 2014, 8:39 AM
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Big step for the Emerson site redevelopment (see post 1644) (From the Journal):

Purchase agreement set for Ithaca Emerson site
Public-information meeting April 10 on redevelopment of closed factory on city-town line

6:14 PM, Mar 31, 2014
Written by
David Hill


A Horseheads development company announced Monday it has finished a purchase agreement for the former Emerson Power Transmission site on Ithaca’s South Hill on the city-town line with plans to turn it into a combination of apartments, business space, gardens and park.

Unchained Properties has scheduled a public information meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 10 at Cinemapolis in downtown Ithaca to explain the redevelopment project and solicit input.

Unchained managing partner David Lubin has disclosed the general idea of the redevelopment plan with local and state government officials, but Monday’s announcement is acknowledgment that plans to redevelop the 95-acre site with 800,000 square feet of building space are moving forward.

“Ithaca is such a vibrant city where quality of life is taken seriously,” Lubin said in the announcement. “The UP team of mostly upstate professions including environmental engineers, architects, landscape architects and structural engineers is very sensitive to the site’s importance to the community because of its history and its high visibility; we’re intent on bringing it back to life in a responsible way.”

The site is to be called The Chain Works District after its history making industrial and automotive chains.

The plant dates to the early 20th century and was used to manufacture chain for automotive and industrial uses. Formerly known as Morse Chain, it was later owned by BorgWarner and then Emerson, the St. Louis industrial corporation, which announced in 2010 it would shut it down to move operations elsewhere.

From 1928 to 1982 the property was owned by BorgWarner. Emerson Power Transmission continued manufacturing at the site from 1983 until its closure in 2011. BorgWarner built a new manufacturing facility in Lansing for making drive-train and transmission components, including chain, for cars and trucks, and Emerson took over and made industrial chain and related equipment on the South Hill site.

The April 10 meeting will serve to outline the initial plans but also to hear input, said Scott Whitham of Whitham Planning and Design in Ithaca, who is responsible for project planning and government approvals.

In an interview, Whitham noted that the plant was at times the area’s largest employer, and generations of Ithacans worked there or have relatives or friends who did, or they know the site as a major landmark.

“We’d love to share our excitement and also hear any concerns,” Whitham said. “A big project of this scale brings with it both excitement and concern. It’s so much easier to have an open conversation earlier in the process so that we can together understand the scope of what this undertaking is.”

A potential hurdle is environmental effects of the site’s industrial history from the days before close regulation of manufacturing waste and chemicals. Tricholorethylene, known as TCE, is a concern in the neighborhood since it was realized in 2004 that contaminated vapors have been seeping into some homes on South Hill. TCE was used at the plant decades ago as a chemical degreaser.

But Monday’s announcement is a sign the developers believe the environmental issue can be dealt with. Lubin, through Lubin Enterprises LLC, received $344,000 in December 2012 from Empire State Development for assessing what’s needed to undo the contamination. To facilitate environmental monitoring, Emerson Corp. filed plans with the city last year to subdivide the property and keep a portion containing underground storage tanks.

Unchained Properties said it will start the state environmental review process and prepare a draft generic environmental impact statement on the project. One complicating factor is that the site is split between two municipalities, but Whitham said it’s clear that whichever is not the lead agency for review will be closely involved.

The name was inspired by a photo the project team found from the days when the factory was being built, Whitham said.

“There’s a little sign above one of the doors that says ‘the Chain Works,’ and we as a team were very captivated by not only the image but by that sign,” he said. “It became the informal way to refer to the project, and it has become the formal one.”

Lubin has developed and operated three Hilton-brand hotels, including one each in Horseheads and Oneonta, as well as commercial property in Horseheads and Corning. But he is also involved in Ithaca. Lubin is a member of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance board. He and his sister, Enid Littman of Ithaca, through a company called L Enterprises, own the former Harold’s Army-Navy store building on the Commons, and in fall 2012 announced a plan for a mixed apartment, retail and office complex there to be called Harold’s Square. Their father, Harold Lubin, ran a store there that closed in 1998.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...a-Emerson-site
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Old Posted Apr 2, 2014, 8:26 PM
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Big step for the Emerson site redevelopment (see post 1644) (From the Journal):

Purchase agreement set for Ithaca Emerson site
Public-information meeting April 10 on redevelopment of closed factory on city-town line

6:14 PM, Mar 31, 2014
Written by
David Hill


A Horseheads development company announced Monday it has finished a purchase agreement for the former Emerson Power Transmission site on Ithaca’s South Hill on the city-town line with plans to turn it into a combination of apartments, business space, gardens and park.

Unchained Properties has scheduled a public information meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 10 at Cinemapolis in downtown Ithaca to explain the redevelopment project and solicit input.

Unchained managing partner David Lubin has disclosed the general idea of the redevelopment plan with local and state government officials, but Monday’s announcement is acknowledgment that plans to redevelop the 95-acre site with 800,000 square feet of building space are moving forward.

“Ithaca is such a vibrant city where quality of life is taken seriously,” Lubin said in the announcement. “The UP team of mostly upstate professions including environmental engineers, architects, landscape architects and structural engineers is very sensitive to the site’s importance to the community because of its history and its high visibility; we’re intent on bringing it back to life in a responsible way.”

The site is to be called The Chain Works District after its history making industrial and automotive chains.

The plant dates to the early 20th century and was used to manufacture chain for automotive and industrial uses. Formerly known as Morse Chain, it was later owned by BorgWarner and then Emerson, the St. Louis industrial corporation, which announced in 2010 it would shut it down to move operations elsewhere.

From 1928 to 1982 the property was owned by BorgWarner. Emerson Power Transmission continued manufacturing at the site from 1983 until its closure in 2011. BorgWarner built a new manufacturing facility in Lansing for making drive-train and transmission components, including chain, for cars and trucks, and Emerson took over and made industrial chain and related equipment on the South Hill site.

The April 10 meeting will serve to outline the initial plans but also to hear input, said Scott Whitham of Whitham Planning and Design in Ithaca, who is responsible for project planning and government approvals.

In an interview, Whitham noted that the plant was at times the area’s largest employer, and generations of Ithacans worked there or have relatives or friends who did, or they know the site as a major landmark.

“We’d love to share our excitement and also hear any concerns,” Whitham said. “A big project of this scale brings with it both excitement and concern. It’s so much easier to have an open conversation earlier in the process so that we can together understand the scope of what this undertaking is.”

A potential hurdle is environmental effects of the site’s industrial history from the days before close regulation of manufacturing waste and chemicals. Tricholorethylene, known as TCE, is a concern in the neighborhood since it was realized in 2004 that contaminated vapors have been seeping into some homes on South Hill. TCE was used at the plant decades ago as a chemical degreaser.

But Monday’s announcement is a sign the developers believe the environmental issue can be dealt with. Lubin, through Lubin Enterprises LLC, received $344,000 in December 2012 from Empire State Development for assessing what’s needed to undo the contamination. To facilitate environmental monitoring, Emerson Corp. filed plans with the city last year to subdivide the property and keep a portion containing underground storage tanks.

Unchained Properties said it will start the state environmental review process and prepare a draft generic environmental impact statement on the project. One complicating factor is that the site is split between two municipalities, but Whitham said it’s clear that whichever is not the lead agency for review will be closely involved.

The name was inspired by a photo the project team found from the days when the factory was being built, Whitham said.

“There’s a little sign above one of the doors that says ‘the Chain Works,’ and we as a team were very captivated by not only the image but by that sign,” he said. “It became the informal way to refer to the project, and it has become the formal one.”

Lubin has developed and operated three Hilton-brand hotels, including one each in Horseheads and Oneonta, as well as commercial property in Horseheads and Corning. But he is also involved in Ithaca. Lubin is a member of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance board. He and his sister, Enid Littman of Ithaca, through a company called L Enterprises, own the former Harold’s Army-Navy store building on the Commons, and in fall 2012 announced a plan for a mixed apartment, retail and office complex there to be called Harold’s Square. Their father, Harold Lubin, ran a store there that closed in 1998.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...a-Emerson-site
Thanks for sharing. This could be great news for the community. I wonder what the status is for Harold's Square?
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  #1652  
Old Posted Apr 2, 2014, 11:35 PM
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Glad to see you back ithacat.

I haven't heard anything recently about Harold's Square. I'm sure that Mr. Lubin is quite the busy man with two major projects on his agenda. I'm guessing he has staff to handle much of the current work for Harold's Square (leasing, financing, gathering bids, permits, etc) while Emerson, though a ton of work has already gone into it, is just as complicated if not more so.

Sure would be nice to see both of these rascals get started (along with the Marriott and Ithaca Hotel 2nd tower).
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Old Posted Apr 3, 2014, 5:30 PM
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Glad to see you back ithacat.

I haven't heard anything recently about Harold's Square. I'm sure that Mr. Lubin is quite the busy man with two major projects on his agenda. I'm guessing he has staff to handle much of the current work for Harold's Square (leasing, financing, gathering bids, permits, etc) while Emerson, though a ton of work has already gone into it, is just as complicated if not more so.

Sure would be nice to see both of these rascals get started (along with the Marriott and Ithaca Hotel 2nd tower).
Thanks, Ex.

I was hoping the Harold's demo and some of the "groundwork" would be done during the Commons rebuild. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Marriott and 2nd Ithaca Hotel tower start this year, along with the last building in the Cayuga Green project. Bring on the construction...
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  #1654  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2014, 10:34 AM
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Thanks, Ex.

I was hoping the Harold's demo and some of the "groundwork" would be done during the Commons rebuild. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Marriott and 2nd Ithaca Hotel tower start this year, along with the last building in the Cayuga Green project. Bring on the construction...
I'm with you on that.


Here's an interesting article from the Ithaca Times regarding assessments, taxes, and student housing in Ithaca:

http://www.ithaca.com/news/a-fair-as...9bb2963f4.html
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Old Posted Apr 5, 2014, 2:46 PM
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I stumbled upon a photography site (copyrighted & for sale) with dozens of terrific pics of Ithaca & environs (mostly aerials):

http://landmarkimages.smugmug.com/

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Old Posted Apr 6, 2014, 7:39 PM
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One of my favorite streets in Ithaca...Cascadilla Park Road:

Video Link



Here's some more info about the place:

http://www.thepolisblog.org/2010/01/...illa-park.html




Source:
http://athandguides.wordpress.com/20...lla-park-road/
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Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 10:34 AM
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I must admit I'll getting excited about the possibily of the Emerson project (see post #1650) becoming a reality. Here's an article from the IJ regarding the first public info meeting about the project:

Developer shows off Emerson site plans

Written by David Hill
9:09 PM, Apr 10, 2014 | ithacajournal.com


Members of the public got their first look at a plan to redevelop the vacant 95-acre former Emerson Power Transmission site on South Hill Thursday and, judging by questions and comments, generally think it’s a good idea.

A 90-minute presentation held by Unchained Properties, of Horseheads, and the architectural and planning team it’s working with, filled an auditorium at the Cinemapolis complex in downtown Ithaca.

The team showed historical photos of the former factory and recent shots of the empty interiors. They then shared their concepts on redeveloping the site and its 800,000 square feet of building space into a mix of apartments, offices, small-business incubator and flex space, gardens, parks and manufacturing space.

The site is to be called The Chain Works District, after its history of making industrial and automotive chains.

A repeated theme is that with so much building space, there is room for a mix of uses, and in the residential part, types of units and targeted markets in terms of affordability.

“The intention there is it actually does become a new neighborhood within Ithaca, joining its neighbors of Ithaca College, the downtown and Cornell, and really becomes a very friendly neighbor,” said Julie Bargmann, of DIRT Studio in Charlottesville, Va., which is working on landscape and site design.

Much of the building space dates from the first three decades of the 20th century, but other buildings were added, many eventually connected to form a nearly continuous space about a quarter-mile long, according to the design team. But the idea now is to “edit” some of the buildings and create courtyards and internal streets, said Scott Whitham, of Whitham Design in Ithaca, which is leading the planning and government approvals, and was Thursday’s master of ceremonies.

Slides depicting design ideas showed apartments facing south and west with views of Cayuga Lake through existing industrial-scale windows and with rooftop amenities, and work spaces on the Aurora Street side, with recreation areas in the middle. Parking was shown on the ground floors. One slide showed bleachers and other seating brought in to a courtyard for showing movies on an old-factory outer wall. One slide depicted a “Dry Kiln Cafe,” named for that part of the former factory, and the “Annealing Courtyard,” for a metal heat-treatment process that was housed there. The design team members, though, stressed these are just ideas yet.
Audience members included South Hill residents, architecture students, elected officials and at least some people who worked at the Emerson factory, sometimes still called “Morse Chain” after its earliest days.

Questions raised included whether there would be affordable housing and condominiums, and how soon pedestrian connections could be made through the site.

The route of the planned Gateway Trail — linking rails-to-trails paths elsewhere on South Hill to the under-construction Black Diamond Trail and nearby Buttermilk Falls State Park — passes through the property, and team members said the path will be incorporated into the plans. They noted, however, that while Unchained has obtained site control, Emerson is still the owner.

Questions were asked about the traffic impact on nearby residential streets and on South Hill Elementary School, issues Whitham said the environmental review will address. As for condominiums, planning hasn’t gotten that far, he said. He said the designers want to improve connections to adjoining neighborhoods, noting South Cayuga Street extends uphill to the factory gates and would provide a short walk from downtown.

There was even a call to retain the nearly 100-year-old wood floors in some of the old factory as dance space. Craig Jensen, of the Rochester-headquartered firm Chaintreuil Jensen Stark, said that’s likely, as the wood is thick and substantial, originally meant to support heavy industrial machinery.

A formal plan for environmental and site review may be filed by late spring or summer, Whitham said.

The site straddles the city-Town of Ithaca line, and both municipalities will be involved, but it may be treated for zoning purposes as a single planned development zone, he said.

More meetings will be held later in the spring to share findings of environmental investigations, Whitham said. Asked if the planning takes into account the possibility of finding contamination that could hurt the project’s financial feasibility, Whitham said there’s been enough due diligence to be confident enough to move toward a purchase.
Earlier Thursday, the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency board approved spending $84,523 to help Unchained Properties pay for planning and feasibility studies. Unchained Properties managing partner David Lubin told the IDA he has budgeted more than $2 million for environmental studies, state and local environmental and plan review, and environmental remediation. He has already spent $750,000 in preliminary review and testing.

The plant dates to the early 20th century and was used to manufacture chain for automotive and industrial uses. At times, it was Ithaca’s largest industrial employer. Formerly known as Morse Chain, it was later owned by BorgWarner and then Emerson, a St. Louis corporation, which announced in 2010 it would shut it down to move operations elsewhere.

Unchained Properties was formed to redevelop the site. Lubin has developed and operated three Hilton-brand hotels, including one each in Horseheads and Oneonta, as well as commercial property in Horseheads and Corning. He has plans for redeveloping several storefronts on Ithaca’s Commons downtown mall and adding an apartment-office tower, to be called Harold’s Square.


Here's the link:

http://www.ithacajournal.com/article...son-site-plans
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  #1658  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2014, 9:48 PM
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A video that so very Ithaca:

Fire and Ice Festival at Ithaca's Children's Garden

Video Link
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Old Posted Apr 17, 2014, 12:10 PM
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Enjoyable (if a touch long, be patient) video of Ithaca Falls, which is located 1/2 block from my old high school (seen towards the end). It's the first aerial trip over the falls I've come across. This is just one of many waterfalls and gorges (this is Fall Creek gorge) in Ithaca. Hope you enjoy.

Video Link
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Old Posted Apr 19, 2014, 3:27 PM
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Looks like the city is trying to catch up to the bigger places when it comes to parking (from the Ithaca Times):

Ithaca Embraces Parking Technology

Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 12:00 am | Updated: 4:39 pm, Wed Apr 16, 2014.
By Keri Blakinger

In about two week, a new parking enforcement measure will hit the streets of Ithaca—the Parking Department’s two vehicles will both be equipped with License Plate Recognition systems, or LPRs. The LPRs will allow the Parking Department to enforce the two-hour time limits on metered spaces and in other two-hour parking zones. In the past, you may have gotten tickets for an expired meter, but in the near future you will be able to get ticketed for exceeding the two-hour time limit even if your meter is not expired.
Director of Parking Frank Nagy explained, “The parking meters are all set up in two-hour time zones. You’re actually supposed to leave after two hours instead of just putting more money in. The whole selling concept of meters in the 1930s and ‘40s was that you pulled into the place you wanted to shop and then you left after an hour or two. What meters have turned into is a place to park all day by feeding the meter all day. City ordinance says those are two-hour time zones.”
The old-fashioned method of enforcing the two-hour time limit, both for parking meters and for other two-hour parking zones, was to chalk a car’s tires, note the time, and return in two hours to check if the car had moved. Because this method was so labor-intensive, the city had not been enforcing the two-hour time limits. The new LPR system, though, will make enforcement simple. The LPRs, which will be mounted on the two parking enforcement vehicles, will be able to note where cars are parked and detect whether or not they have moved the next time a parking enforcement officer drives by. The LPRs will also make it easier for the Parking Department to detect scofflaws, or people who have five or more unpaid parking tickets.
Nagy said at the end of March, “It’ll be about 30 days till [the LPRs] hit the street, and we’ll spend the first 90 days giving warning tickets. The first 90 days people won’t be fined.”
Another change to parking that Nagy has planned is the eventual replacement of meters with pay stations. Beginning this summer, the city will gradually begin removing meters and installing a single pay station in the center of each block. You won’t have to worry about doubling back to find the nearest pay station, though, because you will be able to use any pay station to pay for any space in the city. The stations won’t just accept quarters—they’ll also accept paper money and credit cards. Even better, you won’t even have to use a pay station at all because you will be able to pay for spaces online or through your mobile device.
Another neat feature of the pay station system is that you will be able to take your extra time with you. If you purchase two hours of parking and then decide to move after the first hour, you will be able to use the remainder of your time in another parking space. Nagy said that with the pay station system, “Basically we’re going take Ithaca from the dinosaur age of parking to the modern age of technology. “
Although they are very modern and nifty, the LPRs and pay stations—in combination with other changes, like the recent automation of two of the city’s three parking garages—are actually designed to increase the city’s parking revenue. So far, the modernization efforts are doing just that.
“We started with automation in the last quarter of last year. Those two garages [that were automated] saw a $28,000 increase in revenue over last year,” Nagy said. The upgrades have already paid for themselves because, “It cost us $21,000 to put in the equipment.” He continued, “This year first quarter numbers for the three garages are up over $50,000 since [this quarter] last year.”
The drive for an increase in revenue isn’t just for the sake of crunching neater numbers; it is done with an eye to the future because, before too long, some of the parking garages will need to be replaced. Nagy estimates that the Seneca Street garage, which was built more than 15 years ago, will only last another 10 or 12 years. The Green Street garage, Nagy estimated, “Probably has about 15 years left on it.”
Currently, all of the parking expenses and revenues are part of the city’s general fund. However, Nagy says that if the city created a separate parking division, that entity would be able to have its own account in which to save its revenues for future garage construction. A parking division would be only the first step, though: “Eventually, down the road we could create a Parking Authority. A parking division can only collect and save so much, but a parking authority would be allowed to grow bigger.” He added, “It would still be nonprofit but at the end of the year it can decide how much to put into its savings for the future and how much to give back to the city.
“The biggest emphasis is that we’re doing this now for the future. If we create a parking division, then a parking authority, we’ll be able to save money and put it aside to have money when we need to build these garages. Right now everything is a capital project. Where do those dollars come from? Taxpayers.” With the changes Nagy foresees, though, parking expenses will be able to be paid for by the people who actually do the parking instead of by taxpayers. •


Here's the link:

http://www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca-em...a4bcf887a.html
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