Ciminelli buys Ithaca building

Ciminelli Development Co. Inc. is expanding its Ithaca real estate portfolio with the help of another prominent local company, M&T Bank.

Ciminelli has cut a deal with M&T to purchase its 52,000-square-foot Ithaca headquarters building. M&T, as part of the deal, has agreed to lease 11,852-square-feet of the building back from Ciminelli for its Ithaca operations.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal gives Ciminelli a key position in downtown Ithaca. Just across N. Tioga Street, Ciminelli has started work on a $30 million, 175,000-square-foot mixed use building that will house about 100,000-square-feet of office space and a 105-room Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center.

Cornell University is leasing about 70,000-square-feet in that building. The building, dubbed Seneca Place on the Commons, is slated to open next year.

"The market in Ithaca is excellent and we are confident that we'll have both buildings leased up quickly," said Paul Ciminelli, president and CEO of the Amherst-based development company.

Only 10,000-square-feet of available space remain in the M&T building, which has a mix of local tenants.

The nine-story Seneca Place complex is also being eyed by a number of potential tenants, said James Dentinger, Ciminelli senior vice president.

With the deal, Ciminelli's real estate portfolio including holdings in the Buffalo Niagara region and Florida, tops 7.5 million square feet.