Architects and developers for the Water’s Edge project presented façade materials, building massing and proposed public realm activation to the Planning & Development Board Project Review Committee on June 13, seeking preliminary guidance on community character and waterfront design guidelines.

The project team described thermally modified wood and corrugated metal as their primary materials, with vertical wood elements and trimmed window patterns intended to break the buildings’ horizontality. “That vertical element helps cut down the horizontality of the building,” a team member said. The team also proposed first‑floor, covered retail bays and a plaza oriented toward the waterfront trail to activate the public realm.

Board members and staff focused on two central questions: how the First Floor would engage the trail and inlet, and whether the ground‑level façades facing the water were too inactive. Andy Rollman, member of the committee, and other members noted that several elevations showed large louvered or screened openings for garage ventilation, and asked whether the team could increase active uses or visibility along waterfront edges.

Max Viffer, board member, asked for a clearer explanation of the marketplace component and whether the retail program would be viable for the site’s pedestrian flow. “The biggest concern…is the viability of the retail space and how that is really going to work,” he said, urging the team to provide a stronger retail activation strategy.

Committee members also asked for material samples and for renderings that showed how the materials will age in Ithaca’s climate — in particular, how thermally modified wood will silver or weather, and what maintenance program the developer anticipates. Emily Petrina, the board’s chair, asked for renderings that show the building in winter and over time.

The team noted that the site will be visible “in the round” and provided preliminary strategies for screening garage openings with wood louvers and slatted panels. The applicant said they would provide more detailed visual simulations and a table tying the proposal to the waterfront design guidelines at the planning board meeting.

Direction from the committee: the project team should (1) provide material samples at the planning board meeting, (2) prepare renderings of waterfront views that include winter/light‑gray conditions, (3) show strategies to activate the trail‑facing First Floor (retail program, seasonal uses or other activation), and (4) include a narrative addressing how ground‑floor garage louvers and screens will support a pedestrian‑friendly frontage.

No formal votes were taken; the committee will review the visualizations and the team’s responses to guideline checklists at the full planning board meeting.