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Creating a Flagship
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| By: Jill
Raygor |
May 04, 2005 |
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The name David Chiazza may not yet be a household name in
Ithaca, but his photo, his company and its project are. Chiazza,
vice president at Ciminelli Development Company, based in
Buffalo, is overseeing the Seneca Place on The Commons
development, parts of which are scheduled to open next month.
"The guys call me the Donald Trump of Ithaca," Chiazza joked.
"But I leave that title for Jason Fane and Mack Travis."
Chiazza has been involved with the Seneca Place project
since November 2000 when his company was among three finalists
selected by Cornell University for the development of a downtown
office, hotel and restaurant project.
Characterizing himself as a "real estate mutt" who never
specialized in one field, Chiazza began his career as an intern
at Ciminelli Development. It was during that time that owner
Frank Ciminelli advised him to never specialize, but to learn
all aspects of his trade and become a generalist.
"Every time I was feeling cornered to be specialized, I
resisted and tried to be conversive in every aspect of real
estate," Chiazza said.
This generalized approach has given him experience in
leasing, financing, construction, property management and an
array of other aspects of real estate. The experience Chiazza
has gained helped him with the Seneca Place project, he said,
because "I've been challenged in every area to get this project
done."
Venturing Into Ithaca
Former City of Ithaca Mayor Alan Cohen and Cornell conceived the
Seneca Place project as a way to bring the university from East
Hill and into downtown. Cornell began seeking bids and concepts
for a development that would go beyond simple office space for
Cornell in late 2000.
"In advance of being contacted by Cornell, we weren't
looking in the Ithaca area, but Cornell clearly made it
interesting to us," Chiazza said during a recent visit to check
on the project's progress.
Having Cornell as a "quasi-partner" was initially
appealing to Chiazza and his company, but after traveling to
Ithaca and looking at the market, the area also became
appealing.
"It's a small market, but it's basically recession-proof.
IBMs come and go, other companies come and go, but universities
stay," Chiazza said.
Overcoming Obstacles
Initially, there was concern in Ithaca that the scale of the
project would be overwhelming to the downtown area. This issue,
Chiazza said, played a large role in influencing the ultimate
design of the project. What is being built now is vastly
different from what Ciminelli originally proposed to Cornell.
"We knew we were putting up a building that would kind of
be a flagship for downtown," he said, adding that it was
important to have the building "fit" with the look of downtown
Ithaca.
In spite of that flagship status, or perhaps because of
it, Chiazza and the others involved with the Seneca Place
development have made it a point to incorporate the building's
design with that of other downtown developments. For instance,
the shape of the building and the bricks used on the façade were
very important parts of the project.
"Its shape is such that while it's a big building, it
doesn't feel like a monolithic slab," Chiazza said. "It feels
like a cluster of buildings grouped together."
Cost was also among the challenges that Chiazza and his
workers faced during construction, he said. By the time ground
was broken for the project a worldwide commodities crisis on
items such as steel and construction materials arose. This
crisis presented delays in deliveries of materials as well as
dramatic increases in cost.
Beyond that, Chiazza added, the project's other main
challenge has been building an urban project in a tight,
inner-city location. Despite the change in traffic patterns and
occasionally blocked lanes the project has caused, "Ithaca for
the most part has welcomed us," Chiazza said.
Timing is Everything
Aside from ensuring that his own project received the final
"go-ahead," Chiazza also had to be certain that the Cayuga Green
parking garage, being developed by the City of Ithaca, would be
completed at or around the same time.
"The parking garage is a companion project," Chiazza said.
The challenge came in ensuring that the Seneca Place
project and the development activities of the parking garage
were all sequenced so that the parking garage was completed
prior to the opening of the office space.
"To me, this isn't just a $30 million Ciminelli project,
it's a $40 million to $50 million joint project with the city,"
Chiazza said.
The original plan was for the parking garage to open 90
days prior to the opening of Seneca Place. With the Hilton hotel
section of Seneca Place set to open June 8 and Cornell
anticipating moving into its offices around mid-July, the 90-day
mark wasn't met.
"But it's not far behind," Chiazza said.
The End in Sight
"One of the things that keeps you going on projects like this is
visualization," Chiazza said. "You need to visualize the day
when we're actually opening the building, and I get to say
something from the heart."
Though Chiazza said he was not yet ready to share any
personal stories with the Times, he did say he has been thinking
about them and preparing some things to say at the ribbon
cutting for Seneca Place.
In short, though, Chiazza said: "If I retire from the real
estate business after this process, I will consider my career to
be complete. Not because this building is the Empire State
Building, but on the scale the size of Ithaca, it's not a
project many real estate guys or gals have the opportunity to
do."
Chiazza said he has experienced many things in Ithaca and
often recalls stories on his late-night drives back to Buffalo
after visiting the project or going before one of the regulatory
boards in Ithaca.
The scale of the project and its importance in the
community has forced a "kind of quiet guy" into the spotlight
and the community.
"Usually, I can hide behind the company. It's unusual for
people to come up to me who I don't know and have them express
their opinion on the project to me," he said. "To me, I'm just
me - nothing's changed. But I'm attached to this project."
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