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Water’s Edge team presents revised, scaled design for waterfront site; board asks for more detail on parking, phasing and northern parcel
Summary
The Water’s Edge development team presented a revised, smaller footprint and design for the waterfront parcel at Third Street on March 25, showing 200 permitted residential units, micro-retail along the Waterfront Trail, screened parking and expanded green space; the board asked for additional detail on parking visibility, northern-parcel interim uses and building massing.
The development team for the Water’s Edge project presented revised designs on March 25 for a waterfront site along Third Street, describing a scaled plan (200 residential units permitted in the current phase), added micro-retail facing the Waterfront Trail, screened parking and an internal circulation scheme with a singular fire-apparatus access from Third Street.
Project presenters said the revisions were intended to improve public access, increase green space and provide a mix of public-facing micro-retail and residential uses. The plan includes about half of the parking under the Southwest building and additional parking internal to the site; the team proposed publicly available on-street parking along the entry drive to serve the Waterfront Trail and nearby Ithaca Farmers Market patrons.
Developers told the board they had coordinated with the Ithaca Farmers Market and plan to provide interim parking for the market during its own construction. The team also said the northern portion of the parcel would be used for construction logistics and temporary parking during the project but had not yet been finalized for long-term use; staff and board members asked for an interim-use plan that would not remain as an unused, fenced lot.
Board members focused questions on: the amount and visibility of parking by the waterfront; how the plazas and narrow service/access piazza would function with delivery and ride-share vehicles; the placement and quantity of bike parking and TDM (transportation demand management) measures; building massing and façade treatment so the building does not read as a long, solid wall from the Waterfront Trail; and programming of the northern parcel and sequencing for demolition and construction logistics.
Architects described façade strategies that break the building mass — vertical elements, recessed balconies and angled planes — and emphasized natural materials such as wood and stone to soften the waterfront presence. The team said the first phase would not pursue large-scale retail but had designed approximately three “micro-retail” spaces (about 1,000 square feet total) and flexibility so spaces could expand or adapt in later phases.
Board requests and next steps: board members asked the team to provide additional elevation and eye-level perspectives showing the building massing without street trees; detailed sequencing and an interim plan for the northern parcel; a clearer summary of public vs. private and gated parking; and context maps showing the project’s connections to the Farmers Market and planned park improvements. Several members recommended additional landscape buffering, pedestrian-scale trees along the entry drive, and consideration of occupancy- or motion-sensor lighting for rear under-well access areas.
No formal vote was taken; the board encouraged the applicant team to return with requested materials and to continue stakeholder coordination with the Ithaca Farmers Market and Friends of Stewart Park.
Ending: The board thanked the team for the updated design and asked for more detailed drawings and sequencing at the next appearance.
