SHPO Signals Support for Deconstructing Three Downtown Buildings; County to Record and Mitigate

Tompkins County officials told the Downtown Facilities Special Committee that the State Historic Preservation Office has signaled support for deconstructing three downtown buildings and replacing them with a single new center-of-government building, subject to agreed mitigation measures.

The architect leading the review said SHPO reviewed a multi-option report and toured the three structures before concluding it would support deconstruction in this specific case. The architect said SHPO requested a package of mitigation actions — documentation, drawings, photographs and an interpretive component incorporated into the new building — which county consultants are negotiating now.

Committee members were shown a six-option matrix the design team presented to SHPO. Options ranged from fully preserving and renovating the three contributing buildings, to selective deconstruction, to building off-site. The design team evaluated each option against project goals including departmental square footage equity, future flexibility, security (a single main entry), New York State Building Code compliance, parking and access to transit, ADA compliance and downtown vitality.

“By the end of the meeting, they actually agreed with us and they were in concurrence that, like, in this specific situation, they were supporting us, deconstructing the three buildings,” the Whole Architects representative said during the committee presentation.

Staff and consultants said hazardous‑materials testing and abatement design are already under way. A consultant on deconstruction said Matterport 3‑D scans and modeling of the interiors are complete, and teams will meet with local salvage groups — including a Cornell representative and Finger Lakes ReUse — to assess what can be salvaged for local reuse. The consultant said hazardous materials likely present include asbestos, lead paint and PCBs in caulking; abatement and deconstruction design work is expected to take “several months, probably two to three months.”

Design and schedule estimates presented to the committee put tentative deconstruction start in September with completion targeted around February 2026, and an initial salvage window of three to four weeks before heavy deconstruction begins. Committee members were told a formal written recommendation from SHPO could arrive “in the next few weeks or the next few months,” and some mitigation tasks (documentation and salvaging) can proceed while the letter is finalized.

Committee members asked for timely inclusion of SHPO recommendation letters in the public agenda packet. Consultants said they will continue negotiating the specific mitigation measures and will return with details as the design phase progresses.

Discussion-only items in the presentation included the six-option analysis, SHPO’s requested mitigation measures and the planned salvage and abatement work. Directions recorded in the meeting included continuing hazardous‑materials testing, completing abatement design, beginning salvage coordination with reuse partners and finalizing mitigation language with SHPO. No formal committee vote or final authorization to begin deconstruction was recorded at this meeting.