ITHACA, N.Y. \u2013 Just four months before it is set to go to bid, Tompkins County\u2019s long-debated Center of Government Building project has undergone yet another redesign at the behest of county leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Revised plans show a smaller building that will house fewer departments than originally envisioned while attempting to maintain the county\u2019s goal of creating a centralized hub for government services.<\/p>\n
Representatives from HOLT Architects and county administration presented the revised proposal to the Tompkins County Legislature during Tuesday\u2019s meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As legislators questioned details ranging from parking spaces to the downtown location, architects cautioned that further delays could cost the county an additional $200,000 a month. Planning for the Center of Government project has been ongoing for at least seven years<\/a>.<\/p>\n The presentation was the first substantial update since March<\/a>, when legislators rejected two alternative proposals for different sized buildings. Those plans included a larger building that architects said was needed to accommodate all the desired departments and a smaller, 37,000-square-foot option.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead lawmakers had directed HOLT Architects to continue pursuing the original June 2025 <\/a>goal of a 45,000 square-foot facility on a budget of $50 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOLT Architects principal architect A. Quay Thompson said that decision took architects back to the drawing board. To make the space work, the number of departments planned for the building has been reduced from 13 to 10, Thompson said. The county has over 30 departments of various sizes.<\/p>\n While the overall concept of the building remains the same, Thompson said architects removed two wings and reduced the footprint by pulling in the west wall by 10 feet and the south wall by four feet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to reprogram everything and redesign the interior,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cBut we fit the departments in the footprint and plan shown.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most notable changes involves the building\u2019s fourth floor. Earlier versions of the project envisioned the area as additional office space. Under the revised design, however, the more compact fourth floor will primarily function as a \u201cmechanical penthouse,\u201d with facilities like showers and storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of the smaller building size, there are now fewer amenity spaces, though architects said those areas remain proportional to the overall design. Thompson added that the fourth floor has been designed to allow for future expansion if needed.<\/p>\n Not everyone was enthusiastic about the revised design. Legislator Greg Mezey criticized the proposed exterior appearance of the building, saying he found the design less aesthetically appealing than previous versions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks kind of like a trailer plopped on the top of a beautiful government building,\u201d Mezey said, adding the possibility of windows or different texture to make it fit better.<\/p>\n Although floor plans have already been reviewed and approved with county department heads, Legislator Randy Brown questioned how decisions were made regarding which departments would occupy the space and whether those choices were set in stone.<\/p>\n Under the revised proposal, County Administration and Human Resources would move out of the new building to the Old Jail building, while Planning and Sustainability would relocate to the first floor of the D.D. Tompkins building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Workforce Development, which had previously been slated to move to the Old Jail, would be moved to a rented space offsite.<\/p>\n Brown specifically questioned having Tompkins County Assessment and the Tompkins County Officer for the Aging (COFA) in the building, saying he had heard concerns from constituents, particularly seniors in Newfield, about accessibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are the people that elderly people really come to visit and they don\u2019t want to come down here,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThose are seniors who have to have access. I don\u2019t see a lot of access here,\u201d adding he believes it should be a more administrative focused building.<\/p>\n Legislature Chair Shawna Black explained that many legislators had been approached by department heads advocating either for inclusion in the building or placement elsewhere, prompting county administration to take the lead on those decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to let our employees dictate where they want to be,\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n Brown disagreed, arguing that the legislature should have played a larger role in determining department locations.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to see logic, there\u2019s no logic to this,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n Thompson responded that COFA was placed on the first floor of the building to help prioritize accessibility, and that the new central building was the most accessible option between the Old Jail and the D. D. Tompkins building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thompson stressed that as it will be years before the facility is move-in ready, specific office placement could change.<\/p>\n \u201cWe designed it in a way that it can accommodate change with minimal capital investment,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n Brown argued that accessibility concerns are compounded by a lack of parking.<\/p>\n The most recent plan shows the total of on-site parking spaces had decreased from 104 to 93.<\/p>\n Black said those parking concerns have been a big part of the county\u2019s conversation with the city, and those worries are amplified by the indefinite closure of the Seneca Street Parking Garage.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been concerned about parking for our employees ever since we started this project,\u201d Black said. \u201cThey\u2019re aware that we can\u2019t do the ribbon cutting of a building where our employees don\u2019t have a place to park.\u201d<\/p>\n While many issues still seem up in the air, Thompson touted that HOLT Architects has not compromised on any sustainability goals. The building remains fully electric and now includes infrastructure to support a potential geothermal system.<\/p>\n Architects emphasized the overall timelines remain intact. The county is still targeting October or November to release the project for bids.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n