Downtown Ithaca Alliance launches living and staying virtual tour

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) is providing some virtual help to anyone who is curious about what it’s like to live or stay in downtown Ithaca.

The organization on May 17 launched the virtual Downtown Living and Staying Tour on the website downtownithaca.com, allowing users to see available apartments and lodging on their computer or smartphone. 

The tour is available on the website “indefinitely,” Darlene Wilbur, communications director for the DIA, tells CNYBJ in an email.

The virtual tour gives people a chance to view inside 10 to 12 downtown apartment and lodging projects. Some of the self-guided virtual tours are available in an experiential 360-degree viewing format while other spaces are viewable as photos or a combination of both formats. 

“Downtown Ithaca has experienced a substantial amount of housing and lodging development and renovations during the past decade, and we want people to come to explore them,” Gary Ferguson, DIA executive director, said in a release. “Our Living and Staying Virtual Tour provides viewers with an insider look at these new developments and the opportunity to discover our Downtown community as a fantastic place to live and visit.” 

Downtown Ithaca includes new housing projects such as City Centre and Harolds Square and lodging projects Marriott on the Commons, and Canopy by Hilton, DIA said. 

In addition, the upper floors of previously vacant or underutilized buildings have been renovated into upscale apartments at a number of locations. 

Downtown Ithaca is home to nearly 2,000 residents and offers more than 600 hotel rooms. 

The nonprofit Downtown Ithaca Alliance describes itself as an organization that’s “in charge of the preservation, promotion, and development of the Ithaca Business Improvement District in downtown Ithaca.”