ITHACA, N.Y. — The proposed Tompkins County Center of Government project represents a massive construction and reorganizational undertaking for county officials, one that was always destined for hiccups and roadblocks.
But ongoing discussions with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) about crucial grant funding for the project have presented certain obstacles that may delay the plan’s timeline or fundamentally change the plans that have been announced, should county officials choose that route.
The Ithaca Professional Building and the Key Bank building both sit on the site where the Center of Government (COG) is currently proposed, on the 400 block of North Tioga Street in Ithaca.
The site itself, meanwhile, sits in a historic district. SHPO has deemed the two buildings as contributing to the site’s historic value, meaning in order to qualify for grant funding, the office’s preservation regulations must be abided as plans advance for the five-story, 55,000 square foot building slated to cost around $40 million.
Deputy Planning Commissioner Megan McDonald and Facilities Director Arel LeMaro updated the Downtown Facilities Special Committee Monday on how the talks between SHPO and county officials are progressing.
“If we’re proposing deconstructing some or all of those buildings, they would be expecting us to be presenting that we explored our options and why this is the option that’s viable and these are not,” McDonald said.
SHPO’s preference, according to the meeting discussion, is to adaptively reuse the existing buildings and make them usable in the COG project.
If the cost of incorporating the existing buildings into the COG plan is significantly more than deconstructing them and building anew, McDonald said there are financial burden exceptions allowed by the state and county officials could seek grant funding elsewhere.
Regardless, LeMaro and McDonald both said hiring a design team is the next critical step, a process the county has started already — LeMaro said the application review team is prioritizing consultants with experience in historic preservation work.
McDonald said once the county selects a design team, they will have the expertise to “build the strongest case” to support the county’s chosen plan for the site.
As the conversation continued, frustration began to grow among some of the county officials.
“Should we be looking at another option? Should we be looking at building out somewhere else, where we could build a big-box modern office building and not have to worry about building down here?” Lane asked rhetorically, ostensibly suggesting the county use other locations as a bargaining chip of sorts during talks with SHPO. “The city needs to know it, SHPO needs to know it. There are other options out there.”
To this point, most of the COG discussion has focused on the North Tioga Street properties.
Democratic legislators Veronica Pillar and Rich John both pushed back on Lane’s suggestion, though John said he understands the sentiment.
County officials can still renege on that decision and change locations if the economic challenges prove too burdensome. That option gained some momentum among legislators during the committee meeting.
But it would be a significant change, and Pillar, among others, pointed out that moving the COG from downtown would mitigate the stated goal of centralizing services and departments to provide easier access to the most people.
“I’ve always been a strong proponent of having a center of government downtown, centrally located in the county,” Dawson said. “But a few more hurdles might convince me that we ought to be exploring another option.”
No alternative sites were specifically mentioned or discussed at the meeting.
Chair Randy Brown also held a brief discussion among committee members about potentially involving the City of Ithaca in the COG plans, an idea he said came from an unnamed member of Ithaca’s Common Council.
The idea was largely rejected by committee members, who felt the city’s inclusion would cause too many complications at this point in the process.
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