ITHACA, N.Y. –– With construction set to start on developer Jeff Rimland’s Ithacan tower, and soon following, the redevelopment of the western portion of the Green Street Garage by the Vecino group, City officials have announced that the Garage will officially close and traffic patterns will be shifted to accommodate crews and equipment.

Beginning the week of March 22, traffic lanes on East Green Street will be shifted approximately 4 feet to the south, and reduced to 10’ wide, between South Cayuga Street and the tuning fork. The lane shift will be in place for the duration of the demolition and subsequent redevelopment on Green Street, which could take until 2023, though likely sooner.

The Green Street Garage will be closed for parking beginning Monday, in anticipation of demolition and redevelopment. The garage, hopefully, will have a sooner reopening date than the end of area redevelopment, with re-opening anticipated for late Fall 2021.

According to Bruce Adib-Yazdi, the VP of development for Vecino, despite the impending closures and traffic changes, crews working on the garage project won’t be breaking ground officially until mid to late April. “We are still in the legal / financing stage and working through all the details with the city. (We) don’t have an imminent start date,” he said.

Rimland crews may be on site earlier, likely within the next few weeks. The Ithacan is estimated to take around 18 months to complete.

As the project progresses, temporary closures of the north lane (garage side) of East Green Street may be necessary to accommodate demolition and redevelopment operations. Pedestrian route detours will be posted in order to ensure continued safe access to Commons businesses and amenities during demolition and construction phases. Due to the nature of this lane shift, the bicycle lane on this portion of East Green Street will be unavailable for the duration of the project. 

For public parking, both Seneca Street and Cayuga Street offer monthly parking passes for employees. Plus, hourly and daily parking is available in those garages. Also, hourly on-street parking is available around downtown. You can pay for the on-street parking service using pay stations located around the city or through the ParkMobile app. Additional information about parking, transportation alternatives, and the Green Street Redevelopment Project can be found on the city’s website under “Parking News” here as well as on the Downtown Ithaca Alliance website here. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Access to Cinemapolis, Ithaca’s indie film theatre on E. Green Street, will be available through the construction period.

“We will definitely remain open during the construction,” Brett Bossard, Cinemapolis executive director said. “The fencing that will be put up during the demolition of the west section of the garage will allow for entrance and exit of the theater from our regular doors, but pedestrian traffic will all be routed from the Green Street side.” He added, however, that “there will not be access through the alley to the Commons for a large portion of the construction period.”
To read more about both projects, check out reporting by development writer Brian Crandall, which can be found here.

Anna Lamb

Anna Lamb is a reporter for the Ithaca Voice. Questions? Story tips? Contact her at alamb@ithacavoice.com