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Agency members push back on council housing targets and debate tradeoffs of large projects
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Summary
IURA members questioned council housing goals and the reliance on large, grant‑driven projects, stressing a need for diverse housing types and pointing to developer incentives that favor high‑unit projects that may not suit neighborhoods.
Members of the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency debated city council housing priorities and questioned numerical targets and the mix of housing types included in council guidance.
A committee member criticized some council targets and projects — describing the Asteria project as “a disaster” — and raised concerns that state grant programs tend to favor larger developments (35–75+ units), which can produce buildings that do not fit neighborhood contexts or that residents avoid. “If you're building housing that nobody wants to live in, what good is that?” a member said.
Nels, speaking for agency staff, acknowledged tradeoffs: some state programs require larger unit counts to be competitive, but the agency has also supported smaller successful projects and the state has begun piloting smaller‑scale programs (5–50 units) aimed at more moderate builds. He outlined the distinction staff uses between “affordable” (typically <80% area median income) and “attainable” housing for households slightly above that threshold.
Members pressed on how student housing is counted toward unit targets and whether the downtown core and commons receive adequate priority relative to corridors like West MLK Street. One member urged more focus on neighborhood‑scale, lower‑rise projects and rehabilitation where possible; another noted some recent teardown‑and‑rebuild projects produced about 80 units but at a scale that reads more neighborhood‑oriented.
The exchange did not result in a formal policy change but highlighted tensions between council goals, state funding rules, and local concerns about neighborhood fit and housing diversity. The agency agreed to use council priorities as guidance where there is overlap and to raise implementation questions as part of future project evaluations.
