Citing a need for additional dwellings in the City of Ithaca, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) announced one of downtown's housing projects is nearly complete.  The Carey Building, an upscale, mixed-use complex that has been undergoing a residential housing expansion for the past year, is almost ready to welcome tenants.

The $4 million project included the construction of 20 high-end residences - 16 micro-apartments and four two-bedroom penthouses - and an additional 4,000 square feet of commercial space into the roughly 18,000 square feet vertical addition that was built above the existing two-story structure at 314-320 East State St., just east of The Ithaca Commons.

Frost Travis, president of Travis Hyde Properties, the building's owner, anticipates that this project will be done and tenants will be able to move in by the end of this week.

Travis said an elevator inspection that is scheduled for the middle of this week is the last step that needs to be completed before tenants can access their units.

"It was a long road and there were a lot of change orders, but we're almost there," Travis said, adding a lot of time was spent preparing the 1923 Tudor Revival structure to support the nearly 5 million pound addition.

Each apartment features modern, well-appointed kitchens with custom milled cabinetry created by E.M Pfaff, state-of-the-art ethernet, and large windows that will provide an ample amount of natural light into each room. Penthouse residences also include laundry facilities and balconies.

"It's a great product in a fantastic location," Travis said, noting 99 percent of the units are already leased. Two two-bedroom units were still available as of late last week.


The expansion also almost doubles the square footage of Rev: Ithaca Startup Works, a business incubator that opened in 2014 on the second floor. Rev is itself an unprecedented collaboration among Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College.

In addition to welcoming the additional living and commercial space, Travis hopes tenants and downtown visitors will marvel over the building's visually appealing structure and design created by John Snyder Architects and LeChase Construction.

"The architecture is exciting and unique in Ithaca, and the engineering behind the design is very creative," Travis said.

Spandrel glass, an opaque insulated glass, covers the structural elements with a decorative screen and gives the south curtain wall facade a distinctive grid pattern.  A terra cotta rain screen wall adds visual interest and texture to the east, west and south facades, and terracotta also honors the existing brick facade on the first two floors.

Deck tiles on the third, sixth, and seventh floor balconies are 2 feet high, 2 feet wide panels of sustainably harvested tropical hardwood of the species garapa. Also, the eaves under the fourth floor projection contain programmable LED colored lights.

"If you see them at night, the changing colors are readily observable," Travis said.

"The Carey Building is now an all-electric building, so we will soon be able to run fossil free in our building operations," he added.

"The Carey Building is a great downtown success story on several levels," said Gary Ferguson, executive director of the DIA. "Architecturally, it is an outstanding example of an overbuild construction of a modern building over a historic structure. Socially, the project has introduced micro apartments to our community. Economically, it demonstrates the continued strength of the downtown marketplace. Plus, the additional commercial space will be put to great use by Rev."

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the expansion is scheduled to be held in November.

The newly designed Carey Building is within walking distance of employment opportunities, shopping, restaurants and other services in the central business district. Public transportation is easily accessible to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Parking is available in nearby city garages.  

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