It seems the entire state of New York is rejoicing over the completion of the Ithaca Commons Project, an infrastructure and cosmetic overhaul of Ithaca’s pedestrian-only downtown shopping space.
As the Ithaca Journal reports, Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 was accompanied by three former Ithaca mayors, state-level politicians, and representatives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Kristen Gilibrand to ceremoniously re-open the Commons this past weekend. Local and state politicians are hoping the “best downtown in the country”, as Myrick described the space, will be an economic boon the city and region. The governor’s office predicts the new Commons will increase annual pre-construction foot traffic from 50,000 to 100,000.
From the Ithaca Journal:
After two mayoral administrations, hundreds of meetings from the city to committee level, millions of dollars spent and a decade of frustration, head-scratching and effort, the City of Ithaca, the Commons Project staff in particular, had their victory dance Friday afternoon.
All fine and dandy, except for the smallest of details: the Ithaca Commons Project ran $6 million over budget and was finished 1 year behind schedule. What began as a sewage replacement project budgeted at $9.5 million quickly snowballed into a behemoth undertaking costing $15.3 million, a typified example of what all-too often results from public infrastructure projects.
An Ithaca Journal report from December, 2014 details the long and sordid history of the project up until that point. Here are some selected excerpts:
One of the goals — to pre-emptively replace utilities as old as a century, the failure of which could be catastrophic and require digging up the mall and disrupting downtown anyway — was also its undoing.
Once they began to dig, they found a mysterious tangle of utilities underground: No one could be completely sure where each utility was or what subterranean obstacles would be in the way.
Having so many utilities also meant many agencies and utilities would be involved. The city’s contractors or subcontractors would do water, sanitary and storm sewer, but natural gas and telecommunications would involve outsiders not held to a schedule dictated by a contract.
At the outset, the budget totaled $9.5 million, part of it backed by a $3.5 million capital spending allocation from Common Council financed by bonds. The city is using short-term bonding for money needed during construction but plans to seek longer-term financing when it is finished.
The state Department of Transportation also contributed $562,000, and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance pledged $500,000 from an increased assessment on properties in the business-improvement district. The final piece was a $4.5 million federal grant awarded in July 2012.
When bids for the final phase came in higher than budgeted early this year, the council allocated another $2 million from bonds, and used a state economic-development grant of $1.8 million to help cover the increases. The Community Foundation of Tompkins County has contributed $161,500 to restore some amenities cut out, including planter and bench areas, and a seasonal outdoor reading room.
The Commons remains open, and there hasn’t been a wave of store closings. Some merchants say they’re doing fine, and sales continue to grow.
But as the second work season comes to a close and the Commons is still a construction zone, merchants’ frustration has grown, and some on the strip warn that not all will survive. The churn of storefronts that often happens after the Christmas shopping season may be worse this year, they warn.
“I think there’s this divide now between people who want to get it done right now, as quickly as possible, no matter what, and other people that want to make sure it gets done right even if it takes a little bit longer,” Randall said.
It’s understandable that this project went over-budget and was delayed, particularly because of the labyrinthine network of utility lines that were uncovered after the initial dig. But, going over 50% budget and over a year in the timeline? That’s quite serious, especially when you’re considering that this project involved about three city blocks in a small town in upstate New York.
Rejoice for the shop owners whose commercial lives have been restored to normalcy and for locals whose shopping experiences are now more enjoyable, but remain weary of those who claim government to be omniscient and omnipotent.
(Featured image via Ithaca Voice.)
Paraphrased from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig
Boston’s “Big Dig” was the most expensive highway project in the US, and was plagued by escalating costs, scheduling overruns, leaks, design flaws, charges of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal arrests, and one death. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion. However, the project was completed only in December 2007, at a cost of over $14.6 billion. The Boston Globe estimated that the project will ultimately cost $22 billion, including interest, and that it will not be paid off until 2038. As a result of the death, leaks, and other design flaws, the consortium that oversaw the project agreed to pay $407 million in restitution, and several smaller companies agreed to pay a combined sum of approximately $51 million.