Ithaca and Community Development

Ithaca Commons

One of the reasons for moving back to Ithaca was to get involved with a community that’s close to both of our hearts.  With the gorges, the lake, the parks and two Universities, Ithaca has a lot to offer.  But like many towns across America, one of the major issues is the struggle of local businesses to stay relevant despite the growth of big box stores.  Stores like Walmart and Target have brought much needed sales tax revenues to struggling communities, but at the cost of locally-owned businesses.  For an interesting documentary on this subject, check out Independent America. The movie does a good job of highlighting the effect of these stores on town culture as well as the limited fix the sales tax has on the economy.

Ithaca was an early adopter of a downtown pedestrian mall, paving over two blocks of a central downtown street and turning it into the Ithaca Commons.   Since its development in the mid 70′s, The Commons has seen ups and downs, with several proposals to turn it back into a two-way street.  However, the last few years have seen a slight resurgence and there is hope that Ithaca’s downtown can be a successful story.   I’ll be writing about several of these developments as I see them from my apartment  located in the newest building downtown.  We’re living in the Cayuga Place apartments, a new “green” building with storefronts, riverside walk and a yet to be developed neighboring condominium.  The Commons will also see the development of a new home for Cinemapolis, the local art theater, and there is a proposal being debated by town counsel to redesign the entire Commons in 2010.  We’ll see how all of this plays out, but there’s plenty of reason to hope and to get involved.  We need to bring the same kind of energy and focus we saw in this national election to our local communities if we want to see real change in the country.

Cayuga Place Apartments

New Seneca Place Building

Cinemapolis Theatre Construction