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Water's Edge team shows design tweaks, adds commercial area and pulls building back from trail
Summary
Developers updated the board on Water's Edge design and a parcel subdivision, saying the southeast building grew to five stories but was moved back to increase separation from the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. Board members pressed for stormwater details and clearer public-access plans for the ground‑floor commercial area.
Developer representatives returned to the Planning and Development Board with a refresher and several modest design changes for Water's Edge, the redevelopment of the former DOT property along the Cayuga Inlet.
Jacob of Widom Planning and Design told the board, “So we are talking about the former DOT site on the inlet, directly adjacent to the farmer's market at the end of 3rd Street.” He said the team has subdivided the southern parcel to facilitate review and site‑plan approval, and that the southeast building was increased from four to five stories while being pulled back from the trail to about 22 feet to provide a larger buffer.
Landscape consultant Amanda described a strategy of retaining aggressive native pioneer species and supplementing them with rapidly colonizing native vines and potted perennials to provide year‑round screening. The team also presented a consolidation of first‑floor commercial space and lobby circulation intended to activate the plaza corner while allowing the lobby to switch to key‑card access after hours.
Board members foregrounded public access and stormwater. Peggy Tully commended the native planting approach but asked for more detail on stormwater treatment in the large vehicle area adjacent to the inlet. The developers said a SWIP (stormwater pollution prevention) plan is on file and must meet permitting requirements; Ian Hunter noted, “219 is the total, including the underbuilding parking that's shown,” when the board pressed for the parking count.
Next steps: the team will resubmit architectural and civil drawings showing the landscape and SWIP details, and the board asked to review the environmental (SEQR) materials and lighting/safety approach at the next meeting.
