ITHACA, N.Y. – Six winning projects were announced for the 21st Annual Pride of Ownership Awards on Wednesday, Dec. 5. The Pride of Ownership Awards program recognizes owners of properties within the city of Ithaca who have developed projects or taken care of their properties in ways that enhance the physical appearance of city neighborhoods and commercial areas. The program is a joint project of the Ithaca Rotary Club and the City of Ithaca.
Founded by former Common Council member Susan Blumenthal, who felt that developers and property owners should receive recognition for work that went above and beyond the requirements of the project, the awards are focused on projects that are thoughtful, unexpected, and lift the aesthetic experience of their setting and surroundings.
The 2018 award committee was chaired by Frost Travis of Travis Hyde properties, and included Susan Blumenthal, award founder and former committee chair; Scott Whitham, Whitham Planning and Design; architect John Barradas; Brett Bossard, executive director of Cinemapolis; and realtor and historian Margaret Hobbie.
The 2018 Pride of Ownership Award recipients are:
Tompkins Financial Headquarters Building
HOLT Architects
One of the most notable additions to the downtown landscape is the new Tompkins Financial Corporation’s new headquarters at 118 E. Seneca St. At seven-stories and 110, 000 square feet, it is also one of the largest. Representing both Tompkins’ strong local identity (they were founded in Ithaca in 1836) and its commitment to the City of Ithaca’s evolving urban core, this new structure is destined to become a landmark of the city’s future.
Designed by HOLT Architects under principal Steve Hugo, the new structure replaces a one-story bank drive-through, and has added highly visible mass and structure to what was a fractured street wall. Careful analysis of the surrounding architectural context led to design drivers reflecting the historical and conventional brick and stone of the existing downtown fabric. The implementation of light and dark elements balance traditional exterior materials with contemporary forms to create a unique and iconic building that assimilates seamlessly into Ithaca’s downtown. This delicate symmetry of materiality and form not only extends the cohesiveness of the city center but also helps create an aesthetic that connects Ithaca’s rich history with its innovative future.
Throughout the interior spaces, the essence of 180 years of banking tradition in a new, state-of-the-art facility was achieved by blending the traditional bank aesthetic with bright open spaces, floor-to-ceiling view glass windows, advanced interactive technology, contemporary amenities, and many sustainable elements. The facility houses a ground floor retail bank, as well as offices, conference rooms, training rooms, and employee lounge spaces for its 300 employees.
Bed and breakfast renovation (224 Columbia St.)
Kenneth and Madeline Young
Kenneth and Madeline Young are proud owners of several attractive and successful bed and breakfasts in the city. They decided to add one at 224 Columbia St. adjacent to another of their B&B’s. This entailed a complete renovation and enhancements of both the exterior and interior of the building. Kenneth Young is an architect and is responsible for the redesign.
The front entry porch welcoming guests was reconstructed with a simple corrugated metal roof, wood columns, a new floor and cast concrete stairs. A new back half of the house was built with a kitchen suspended over a concrete carport. Galvanized steel roofs and metal plates add a modern twist to the Victorian house, emphasizing the geometric volumes of the building as well as adding some vertical texture to the exterior. The streetscape is further enhanced with a transparent fence with some dense grass plants to provide screening for a side yard parking area. The final touch is a simple complementary stone bench in the front.
The brightly painted building attracts attention as one passes by and notices the unique application of the corrugated metal building material not all that common on residential buildings in Ithaca. The Pride of Ownership committee considers this project worthy of an award because of its unique and forward use of a material that is commonly used for all types of construction in other parts of the world.
Construction of new garage (221 Bryant Ave.)
Owners: Ellen McCollister and Robert Frank; Architects: STREAM Collaborative, Noah Demarest and Rob Morache; Builder: Joshua Lind Builder, Inc.
Ellen McCollister and Robert Frank have lived at 221 Bryant Ave. since 1986 and have enjoyed restoring and enhancing their 1912 Craftsman-style home over the years, opening up an enclosed front porch, adding a compatible side entrance and kitchen extension, re-landscaping, and making extensive improvements to the interior.
In 2017 they were faced with the need either to restore or replace the dilapidated existing detached garage, a single-file double garage that had never functioned especially well and furthermore, was severely listing to one side. After both an engineering and an architectural inspection revealed that the existing structure was not worth salvaging, they decided to build an entirely new garage that would meet their needs and complement the prevailing Craftsman style of the surrounding Bryant Park neighborhood.
Working with Noah Demarest and Rob Morache of Ithaca’s STREAM Collaborative, and Joshua Lind of Joshua Lind Builders, they designed a double garage with pitched gables, deep eaves, a recessed bay, and brackets that echo the façade of the house. The overhead doors have been faced with cedar designed to look like traditional hinged garage doors, and the early 20th century aesthetic has been extended further through the use of stone walls and stone pavers, rather than asphalt, in the area immediately in front of the garage.
The result has been both highly functional and emblematic of the Arts & Crafts philosophy, best espoused by the 19th century English social theorist and designer William Morris: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Rebuilding of the former Chapter House and neighboring building (400-406 Stewart Ave.)
Architects: Jason Demarest of Jason K. Demarest Architecture
The original building that housed the well-loved Chapter House suffered a devastating fire in 2015 that displaced every resident of the original building but fortunately resulted no injury or loss of life. After the fire, the owners made the courageous decision to rebuild both 400-04 and 406 Stewart Ave. They engaged local architect Jason Demarest of Jason K. Demarest Architecture to lead the effort.
Working within the framework of the East Hill Historic District and under the close supervision of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission, Mr. Demarest rose to the challenge of recreating a building at 400-04 Stewart Ave. that contained much of the architectural detailing present in the original building.
The rich color and the archways on the porch of 406 Stewart Ave. harmonize with the elegant archway between the two buildings. The thoughtful design of the exterior exit stair further knits the two buildings together.
400-04 Stewart Ave. has seven apartments, consisting of a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts. 406 Stewart Ave contains four apartments with a similar unit mix.
First Street Mosaic Project (Corner of First and Franklin Streets)
Artist Organizers: Annemarie Zwack, Margaret Corbit, Wes Blauvelt, Leslie Carrere, Louisa Sandvik, Carla Stetson, Caitlin Chan
The First Street Mosaic Project is an outstanding work of public art and well worth a visit. Located at the corner of First and Franklin Streets on Ithaca’s Northside, right at the entrance to the ScienCenter parking lot, it is eight feet tall and 180 feet long!
The idea for the mosaic originated with city staff, who issued a request for proposals in 2012 to address the aesthetics of several unsightly walls and other surfaces around the city. A group of artists came together as the First Street Mosaic Project and proposed creating a mural to cover a concrete wall at the city’s Water and Sewer Division on Franklin Street. The artists were influenced by the work of Isaiah Zagar, of Philadelphia, and several of the organizers had visited Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens and studied with Zagar. The city provided studio and storage space in the Department of Public Works Water and Sewer building.
The project took a year to plan and four years to complete. Professional artists worked with community partners to design the 4 sections, one per year. The artist collective wrote grants, held tile making and glazing workshops, collected tile donations, and led volunteers in mortar & grout installation. Campers at the Ithaca Children’s Garden 2015 summer program created tiles for a section to recognize the tenth birthday of “Gaia,” the concrete turtle at the entrance of the Children’s Garden in Cass Park. Students at nearby Boynton Middle School, inspired by the 2016 theme “Plants As Food,” built a portion of the wall celebrating food and agricultural practices. Last year, Young Science Leaders from the ScienCenter celebrated the Cayuga Lake Watershed by making tiles of local aquatic flora and fauna. Neighborhood families and young people from Ithaca College, Cornell, DeWitt Middle School, Youth Employment Services, and Teen Urban Foresters, also participated in creating the mosaic.
Funders and supporters included the Community Arts Partnership, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Park Foundation, Tompkins County Tourism Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, local banks, and many, many others.
The creativity of Ithaca is set off by lines of sparkling mosaic mirror fragments that run throughout this collaborative community work of public art. You are invited to come and see yourself as part of this installation!
“Epic Mom” Mural (816 South Meadow St.)
Owner: Alex Colket
Artist: Ramiro Davaro-Comas
Project team organized by Caleb Thomas, Ithaca Murals project
When homeowner Alex Colket was looking for an alternative to refreshing the paint-job on his South Meadow Street home, he approached Caleb Thomas of the Ithaca Murals Project. Thomas searched through his network of artists to identify Brooklyn-based painter Ramiro Davaro-Comas as a partner for the project that would become “Epic Mom.”
Utilizing video chat, Colket and Davaro-Comas sketched out the ideas for the mural, and then Thomas’s team of community volunteers went to work prepping the exterior of the home. Once Davaro-Comas arrived in Ithaca, volunteers continued to chip in, assisting the artist with the completion of his design, which features a trio of figures traveling through a dream-like environment. A true community effort, Colket provided meals, snacks, and coffee to fuel the team of muralists.
The completed project is what the artist calls “an ode to all of the hard-working parents around the world that immigrate and emigrate to different communities searching for a better life for their children.” Thomas hails the piece as one of the biggest and most prominent murals on a privately-owned property in Ithaca and hopes that it inspires many more homeowners to employ public art as a way to beautify their neighborhoods.
Featured image: The First Street Mosaic project received a 2018 Pride of Ownership Award (Provided photo)