Ten years in the making: Local and state officials celebrate opening of Ithaca Downtown Conference Center
August 14, 2024 by Mark H. Anbinder in 14850 Magazine
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Ithaca Downtown Conference Center - Ithaca, NY
It took a decade, and buy-in from municipalities, funding sources, and state leaders, but the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center and Asteri Ithaca apartment building are open, and officials celebrated Tuesday with speeches and a ribbon cutting.
The conference center has already hosted some events booked long before construction was completed, and has numerous events booked for the future, including meetings for local groups and conferences for visitors.
The ribbon cutting on Tuesday. 14850 Photo by Mark H. Anbinder.
Speakers at Tuesday’s opening event included City of Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo, New York State Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, State Senator Lea Webb, Assemblymember Anna Kelles, Ithaca Area Economic Development President Heather McDaniel, Tompkins County Legislator Dan Klein, Tompkins Chamber President Jennifer Tavares, and more.
New York State Senator Lea Webb speaking to guests at Tuesday’s event. 14850 Photo by Mark H. Anbinder.
The project, which had goals that included bringing significant meeting space and conference space to Downtown Ithaca so as to draw business to the community, as well as providing affordable housing so more of Ithaca’s workforce could live near where they work, drew praise and applause for the funding support from various sources, and for the 181 new housing units that are now available.
Tables set in the Conference Center ballroom. 14850 Photo by Mark H. Anbinder.
Among other features of the project, officials touted the all-electric building — it’s the first 100% electric conference center in the United States, including an all-electric kitchen — and the “Green to Go” convenience store and snack shop in the corner of the building that will be open to the public, with an entrance on East Green Street near City Hall as well as inside the conference center lobby.
The Green to Go shop in the lobby of the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center also has an entrance on Green Street near City Hall. 14850 Photo by Mark H. Anbinder.
Not mentioned during the festivities were some of the challenges the apartment building faces, with residents frequently reporting incidents and other concerns on and around the property over its first several weeks in operation, ranging from unsanitary conditions to visible drug use and overdoses to arson and assaults, as detailed by Ithaca Crime. The incidents bring police, fire, and ambulance responders to the site frequently, often three or four times a night, an Ithaca police officer tells 14850 Magazine.
The issues mirror those experienced by residents and neighbors of other local housing developments, including the Ithaca Arthaus in the west end, managed by the Vecino Group as is Asteri Ithaca, as well as Founders Way on West Buffalo Street and West End Heights on North Meadow Street, both managed by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services.
“Housing is essential for a healthy community,” Ithaca Chief of Police Thomas J. Kelly told 14850 Magazine, and “IPD is working with our community partners at Tompkins County Act, Reach, OAR and Vecino Group to provide support.”
“Building guardianship at each new housing facility is important to ensure residents and community have the support they need to be successful. Guardianship includes managing access to the building and staffing to meet the service demands to ensure residents have the best chance for success,” Chief Kelly says. “We appreciate the Vecino Group hiring Resident Assistants to provide much needed support for the vulnerable residents that are transitioning to their new home.”
“The project partners — including Vecino, City of Ithaca, Downtown Ithaca Alliance, Tompkins Community Action, and the Local Development Corporation — frequently meet to discuss the supportive housing and site management needs of the Asteri and Conference Center projects,” says Jennifer Tavares, President of the Tompkins Chamber and President of the Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation. “All partners are committed to ensuring residents have the support and resources they need, that neighboring businesses and organizations operate without disruption, and that ample safety and security measures are in place to protect all residents, visitors, and neighbors,” Tavares tells 14850 Magazine.
“Folks are being moved into some of these units right from extended periods of homelessness and some of them face mental health challenges or drug addictions or both,” said Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler, who’s on the Community Recovery Fund Advisory Committee that helped fund a “move-in coordinator” position for the Vecino Group. “These needs must be addressed because having police and fire responding repeatedly to this building is not sustainable just as it isn’t at Arthaus,” he told 14850 Magazine. “The county is taking steps to help transition these folks, but if the problems persist, residents and small business owners downtown will have a tough time supporting more units like these and it could drive away some tourists and those who would use the event space.”
Mayor Cantelmo and Assemblymember Kelles did not respond to requests for comment sent late Tuesday. Senator Webb did not respond to a request for comment sent Wednesday morning.