Construction set to begin on Ithaca Marriott

ITHACA — Nine years after Jeffrey Rimland, a Long Island developer, proposed a hotel in the heart of downtown Ithaca, construction will finally begin in September.

The hotel is sited at 120 South Aurora St., along the eastern edge of the Commons. The Ithaca Commons is a two-block pedestrian mall built in 1974 that serves as the center of the area’s civic life. The plot of land sited for the hotel comprises only 0.19 acres or 8,000 square feet. The final design includes an 11-story structure with 159 rooms (including eight suites), restaurant/bar/lounge, fitness center, meeting rooms, and a board room encompassing 100,000 square feet of covered space. The building cantilevers out 12 feet at the fifth floor. The multi-million dollar project (final cost not released), is scheduled to open 17 months after construction begins. The hotel will carry the Marriott brand. 

Rimland’s interest in Ithaca began in 2003 when he bought the Rothschild Building at 215 E. State St. Originally a department store, Rothschild closed its operations in the 1980s. The 77,000 square-foot building was subsequently converted to office space. Rimland’s idea for a hotel crystallized in 2005, because he always had difficulty getting a hotel room when he visited Ithaca. It took three years to re-acquire an adjacent piece of land, which he had originally ceded to the city. Then Rimland had to contend with the financial collapse of 2008 when banks were reluctant to lend money. He sought a partner for the project and chose Urgo Hotels of Bethesda, Maryland. City Council approval of the design also slowed the process, compounded by the need to “value-engineer” the cost of the project to ensure profitability. 

Rimland Equities was founded in 1984 by Rimland, the company’s CEO. The privately owned and operated real-estate-investment firm owns and invests in both commercial and residential properties. Rimland’s headquarters is in Medford Long Island with offices in Bridgehampton, Catchogue, and Ithaca.

Rimland was approached by Urgo Hotels, a Bethesda–based hotel developer. “Don [Donald J. Urgo, Sr., president and CEO] has had an interest in Ithaca since one of his sons attended Cornell,” says Mathew Jalazo, director of development at Urgo Hotels. “He saw the need for opening a downtown hotel that would become the gateway to the Commons. Both [Urgo and Rimland] were excited to be part of the community and build a hotel that was spectacular, not prototypical. 

The result was a joint-venture … Urgo’s role is to develop the project and manage it.”

The project is financed by one bank — M&T. Jalazo says Urgo has had a long relationship financing unique projects with the bank’s Washington, D.C. office. Cooper Cary, a national architectural firm with offices in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C., designed the project.

Urgo Hotels develops, owns, operates, and asset-manages hotels. The company’s portfolio includes 31 hotels with 4,303 rooms located in the U.S, Canada, and Eleuthera in the Bahamas. In just the last two years, Urgo has added 13 hotels with 1,701 rooms. It is a brand-approved operator of leading hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Westin.

This spring, William H. Lane Incorporated was chosen as the construction manager for the project; groundbreaking is scheduled for early September. William H. Lane, Inc. was founded in 1967; its diverse portfolio includes extensive experience in the market sectors of industrial, educational, health care, municipal, utility, and hospitality.       

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com