The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency on Wednesday postponed a vote on whether to terminate its exclusive negotiation agreement for the Inland island redevelopment after developers and agency staff outlined redesigned plans, remaining engineering steps and outstanding feasibility questions.

The project team — including developer representatives Steve (surname not specified), Neil Patel of Baywood and a developer identified only as Jeffrey — told the agency they had redesigned the hotel from five stories to four, obtained soil borings from Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) and opened talks with a potential hotel partner. "We have a good understanding," the developer Steve said, summarizing the team’s progress. Neil Patel said the group "came on board about a month ago" and is working to fast-track design and cost estimating.

Agency staff described the principal unresolved issues. Nels (agency staff) told the board: "If we think there's a better than 50% chance this is going to proceed, it makes sense to provide some sort of time extension," and recommended structuring any extension with incentives that demonstrate developer commitment. Staff and members emphasized three technical constraints: floodplain changes that require the building to be elevated, a half-acre of contaminated soil on city land that will require remediation, and transportation/parking impacts along the nearby state highway (referred to in the discussion as Gallant Boulevard).

Developers said the revised design lowers construction loads and reduces height to meet the updated flood maps, but will require engineering work to determine foundation design and how to reconfigure parking and site circulation once the building is elevated. "We have not yet taken the new, redeveloped building … and determine how many spots we know we're gonna lose," one developer said, noting the next step is coordinated engineering and cost estimating.

Board members repeatedly raised the affordable-housing and waterfront public-access goals tied to the original project. Several members said preserving the project’s affordable-housing component and activating the waterfront walkway were key public benefits that the IURA sought to protect. Developers said the project still aims to include affordable units and waterfront improvements including kayak access and improved walkways, and that the hotel component is needed to make public improvements financially feasible.

After extended discussion about whether to terminate the exclusive negotiation agreement and restart the RFP process — which members warned could add years to the schedule — the board voted to table the termination resolution and asked the development team to provide a written conceptual plan and schedule in advance of the March agency meeting. The board set an expectation that the agency receive the conceptual submission several business days before the meeting so committee members have time to review it.

The action preserves the existing exclusive negotiation agreement for the near term and directs staff and the developers to pursue the planning‑department meeting and revised conceptual submittal described in the discussion. The agency said if the developers cannot document feasibility or the city is unwilling to meet required commitments, it will revisit the disposition and procurement options.

What’s next: The IURA requested a conceptual plan, engineering assumptions and a schedule to be submitted in time for review before the March meeting. The agency said that if the submission demonstrates feasible, financeable design and public-benefit commitments, it will reconsider the termination; otherwise it may reopen the site to a new procurement process.