ITHACA, N.Y. — Members of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency were intrigued with plans shared last week essentially aiming to push the bounds of Ithaca’s downtown westward with mixed-uses and mixed-income housing.
But first, a willing developer has to be located.
The discussion, formally called the “Block 14 request,” was led by former Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson and retired real estate developer Mack Travis, whose children now run the family business of Travis Hyde Properties.
The property Ferguson and Travis wanted to discuss, called “Block 14” within city planning documents, refers to the roughly square parcel of land bounded by the 100 Block of North Geneva Street on the east, the 100 Block of North Albany Street on the west, the 200 Block of West State/Martin Luther King Jr. Street on its south, and the 200 Block of West Seneca Street to the north. For those familiar with the area, it is the block south of Shortstop Deli and west of the Immaculate Conception Church.
Currently, the largest building sitting on that square of land is the Tompkins County Human Services Annex, which older readers will remember as the former Carpet Bazaar, and three older homes that have served a variety of commercial and residential uses over the years. The rest of the area is surface parking — not particularly dense, nor particularly historic.
Travis was a major force in the creation of the Downtown Ithaca Business Improvement District in the 1990s, which is managed by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) non-profit that Ferguson led for over 25 years until retiring last year.
The DIA retains the ability to create Local Development Corporations (LDC) for the purchase, ownership and sale of properties seen as integral to advancing the DIA’s goals of a vibrant, prosperous downtown Ithaca. The best-known example is the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center within the Asteri Mixed-Use project. The Vecino Group may own the building, but the LDC, formally called “LDC 1”, owns the conference center space within it.
Last year, the owner of those three older homes, Wayne Woodward of CNY Rentals, told Ferguson he wanted to sell his properties and wanted to do so in a way that could provide a boost to downtown Ithaca, according to Ferguson.
The Downtown Ithaca Alliance formed “LDC 2,” which involves Travis, Ferguson and downtown developer John Guttridge (also a TCIDA member who recused himself from the discussion to avoid conflicts of interest) as volunteer members, to focus on redevelopment efforts of Block 14.
As part of the legal rules, they cannot be participants or recipients “of any direct gains” from the Block 14 project. The LDC’s volunteer membership is expected to expand, with Tompkins County being invited to participate.
“Block 14 is a key block,” said Ferguson. “It’s very rare, certainly in the urban part of our community, that a block could be put together as a redevelopment opportunity at any one time. It seldom if ever happens. This offers a possibility for that to happen.”
Like other recently introduced proposals, Ferguson spoke to the value of the location as an connection between downtown and the rest of the West State Street corridor and the West End.
“It’s really a critical block in the urban core, and right now that area is under a great deal of pressure, and it really is in need of some investment,” Ferguson added. “This is a great opportunity to do something for the community if we can assemble this, and then the LDC could work to put it out on the marketplace with some conditions so that it could be developed in a way that’s beneficial to the community.”
The DIA, through member donations to “LDC 2,” has paid $25,000 for a purchase option on Woodward’s properties, which essentially takes the property off the market for one year to give them time to hash out a plan.
Since the county plans to move the Human Services annex and Office for the Aging into its new office building in 2028, the whole block is a redevelopment opportunity. The group had Ithaca’s HOLT Architects do a concept study of what a development could look like — the county is eager to retain its parking, but a mandatory parking set-aside could be incorporated into the sale conditions.
In concept, this is in the same vein as the Old Library site a few blocks away, or the Green Street Garage redevelopment. The intent is to request bids under stated conditions and goals, select the best proposal, sell it to the bidder and let them go through the city’s approval process.
However, a better comparison might be the Immaculate Conception School site, where the Rochester Catholic Diocese asked for proposals, then privately considered which they thought was the best for the property’s future and selected that bid. In that case, the result was INHS’s Founders Way project — which beat out at least two other proposals. The county would have membership in the LDC, but it wouldn’t be government-owned property, it would be owned by “LDC 2.”
A transit hub to replace the Greyhound station that closed on the West End was floated during the discussion, as well as a sizable affordable housing component given that the city continues to have a significant lack of housing for those with low to moderate incomes. Any plan would comply to the city’s Green New Deal environmental standards.
Ferguson added that developers were already expressing interest, and a budget to get it to the point of sale was shared with the county, though not made available publicly.
“It’s got a lot of possibilities. I was just in Sweden, in Stockholm, where I lived for a while, and went into a busy, busy street downtown, walked through the entrance, went up the elevator, and there was a beautiful courtyard with apartments all around it, planters, trees, playgrounds for the kids,” Travis said. “There’s no reason that couldn’t happen here, with parking, transit center, whatever on the bottom.”
The two were presenting at the IDA because at some point they may request funds to help with another $25,000 one-year purchase option, legal fees, and associated costs with advertising Block 14 and selling to a bidder. Ferguson and Travis attended this meeting to gauge interest from the IDA in being involved with that process.
It’s not clear if IDA chair Rich John intended to say the figure, as it’s not in public documents, but the financial request is $90,000. Legal counsel to the IDA noted this could be structured as a loan or a grant, with any number of stipulations.
Ferguson noted that a Community Investment Incentive Tax Abatement Program (CIITAP) application would be likely down the line whoever the developer may be, with the requisite affordable housing and local labor components that entails.
County legislator and IDA Member Anne Koreman asked if they would be able to make $45,000 work. Ferguson said it would “help get us there,” but it creates some uncertainty about when they will have all the money to get to work and move forward with planning. Koreman added that she was excited by the potential for the block, and recognized these opportunities come up very rarely.
“I’m wholly supportive of this transformative vision that is possible on this block,” added Common Council and IDA member Ducson Nguyen. “I do agree that it’s a challenging site, it’s a transition area, but it’s one that we at the city have a general agreement that we want to see that corridor improve and better connect to the West End, and I think this would be a really important part of that.”
Nguyen noted that the transit hub could be here, or in the rebuilt Seneca Street Garage to come in the next several years. As IDA Chair Rich John noted, city support would be critical to any project on that square of land.
The discussion will continue at the IDA’s meeting in May, after Ferguson and Travis have met privately with city staff. Considering these types of developments take years to plan and carry out, it would be a surprise if any redevelopment is finished within this decade. Ferguson said he wouldn’t expect Site Plan Review for any project to begin until at least 2026.
“This could be a transformation opportunity for the community,” Ferguson said. “One that we don’t always have the opportunity to do.”
If you appreciate our coverage, please consider becoming a monthly donor to show your commitment to reliable local journalism.