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This month the Ithaca Common Council and Mayor approved a budget to include blueprints for a complete redesign of The Commons, Ithaca’s downtown pedestrian mall. As a member of the Commons Advisory Board, I’ve spent the last two years listening to community members talk about the value and problems with this mixed use space. At its best, The Commons can be a cultural center, filled with locally owned businesses and restaurants; a place to shop, eat and connect with your community, in a unique outdoor space. At its worst, The Commons has been a depressing alley of struggling stores and vacant real estate.
But over the last two years, there has been a steady stream of successful new shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. New restaurants are opening all over the commons; Cinemapolis, Ithaca’s independent theater is thriving in their new location, The State Theater is attracting top musicians from all over the country, and now the Kitchen Theater opened doors at a brand new space off the commons. Over the past few months, I’ve overheard more and more return visitors talk about the transformation of our downtown in a positive (sometimes surprised) light. With the popular growth of local economies and the local food movement, this redesign and commitment from our community is the right move at the right time. Kudos to the Mayor and council for voting this through despite pressure under a weakened economy.
To read a brief highlight of the recommendations from Sasaki Associates, the firm that provided the preliminary concepts, click here.
Downtown Ithaca Before 'The Commons' - Circa 1901
Initial concepts for the redesign of Ithaca’s downtown pedestrian mall were unveiled today by Sasaki Associates. The Boston firm, which designed the master plan for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was selected to provide recommendations and plans for a new Ithaca Commons. These initial plans focus primarily on the spatial layout and considerations for the subterranean infrastructure, and they are a big step towards bringing a needed facelift to this central part of downtown Ithaca. As a member of the Commons Advisory Board, I’m excited to see the city’s commitment to this, despite objections from a few groups that want the space returned to a street. If grants can be secured and funding provided, this redesign will have a very positive impact on the economic health of downtown Ithaca. It will bring the space back to its original conception as a community space for social exchange, entertainment and commerce. If the opportunity passes or the appropriate funding for a full redesign is not secured, then the minority is right and it should be returned to a main street. But what a loss that would be.
See the article from today’s paper here.
Ithaca Alderperson in the New Cinemapolis Theater
I’ve posted about this before, but downtown Ithaca has been going through significant development growth over the past few months, with several projects in planning and execution today. In the next few months, the city will be opening a new independent movie theater, several retail stores including Urban Outfitters and breaking ground on a $30 million hotel & $12 million luxury condominium. The city also selected Sasaki Associates a design firm that created the master plan for the Beijing Olympics to rebuild the downtown pedestrian mall (The Commons). Today’s local paper led with a story about the status of the projects and Ithaca’s resilience during this economic downturn. Read Here
Building a New Theater
At a time when most companies and organizations are looking for ways to tighten their belts, a small non-profit movie theater is opening a new home in downtown Ithaca.
For people that live in Ithaca, there were two theaters you could visit for independent movies. Fall Creek Pictures and Cinemapolis. This Spring however, both theaters are closing and being replaced with a state-of-the-art, 5-screen, stadium-seating cinema. The project has become a bit of a family affair, with my mother chairing the board of directors, my wife working on the grand opening event, and I am working on the marketing and communication committee.
This is an exciting project for downtown Ithaca, as it has the potential to create a strong destination on the Commons. Our hope is that it will pull students from Cornell and Ithaca College off the hills, and people from around the community downtown. We’re partnering with local restaurants to offer dinner & a movie / movie and dessert specials, and we’re hoping that the success of this theater will help with the overall rehabilitation of downtown. With the opening of Urban Outfitters across the street and a proposed redesign of the commons in 2010, things are looking promising.
For more information on the project, including pictures of the development, or to become a member, visit our facebook page. The theater is scheduled to open in late May.
The Ithaca Commons
I received a letter in the mail last week that the Ithaca City Council approved my application to join the Commons Advisory Board. The Commons is a two-block pedestrian mall in downtown Ithaca. See a previous post on the history and my interest.
Growing up in Ithaca, the Commons always seemed to be a place of great potential, but missed opportunity. A concept that made sense on paper, but not when you walked from store to store. There are occasional bright spots. It still runs a successful Chili Cookoff every February, and holds outdoor concerts and festivals in the summer. There are a few decent restaurants and shops. But there are an equal number of empty storefronts, tired head shops and restaurants that can’t stay in business.
So my reason for joining the board is to contribute fresh ideas and energy to the revitalization of this community centerpiece. I want to walk down the Commons and see storefronts filled, restaurants open for business and people energized to be out on the town, engaged with their neighbors. There are already several steps being taken to increase the pedestrian traffic to the Commons, including a new movie theater, an Urban Outfitters (come to the Commons, college students), condos, hotels and Cornell University office space. But the Commons needs a fresh new design, a few stable national stores and unique community-owned businesses. Most importantly, it needs the buy-in and support of the local community. If people make a conscious decision to spend their money downtown, at locally-owned restaurants and businesses, instead of always going to big box stores and chain restaurants, this new downtown initiative can succeed.
Update: Pics from the swearing in. Notice the huge crowd in attendance:
Taking the Oath
Serious Business
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
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