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ImageA six-screen first-run movie theater, an ice skating rink, plenty of outdoor café seating, and an overall commitment to the success of their downtown are some of the things that stood out to a group of Ithacans who traveled to Charlottesville, VA this week.

The fact-finding trip was hosted by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance as part of a continuing effort to explore ideas and learn how other similar cities have created successful, thriving downtowns. The information and ideas that were gathered will serve as points of reference for D.I.A. and city of Ithaca officials to consider as they work to grow and promote downtown Ithaca, in the development of a new 10 year strategy for downtown, and in town/gown relations.

Ithaca and Charlottesville both have pedestrian malls and both are college towns. Like Ithaca, Charlottesville has been recognized several times as one of the best places to live in America, while the University of Virginia also consistently ranks high as one of the best universities in the country. Charlottesville and Albemarle County have slightly higher populations that Ithaca and Tompkins County.

Charlottesville’s pedestrian mall is anchored at one end by a 208 room Omni hotel and at the other by a 2,300 seat, covered outdoor amphitheater.  Other downtown attractions and traffic generators include a children’s museum, a restored historic courthouse that Presidents Jefferson, Madison and Monroe frequented (all 3 lived in the region), a prominently located and marked downtown visitors center and public transportation hub, parking garages and parking lots, free trolleys running between downtown and the college campus throughout the day, a variety of retail businesses and art galleries, professional offices and housing.

One major difference between the Charlottesville pedestrian mall and the Ithaca Commons is that Ithaca has pavilions, a playground, water fountain and other permanent fixtures located in the center of the public areas of the Commons. The Charlottesville pedestrian mall does not have them or confines them to the side of the public walkway, leaving the center areas open for trees and cafes. The city leases sections of the public walkway to cafes and restaurants for additional outdoor seating, which generates additional pedestrian traffic.              

D.I.A. Executive Director Gary Ferguson says what stood out to him was the level of commitment local officials have, with respect to downtown Charlottesville overall, and the pedestrian mall. “It’s clear to me that Charlottesville city officials think about the long-term best interest of their downtown and pedestrian mall in every decision they make. The time and effort they put in to ensure the outdoor amphitheater was located in downtown is a great example. The cleanliness, number and types of attractions, design and planning of their downtown clearly demonstrates how committed they are to it. I think that commitment is paying off in terms of the number of people we saw shopping and dining on the mall throughout the day and into the evening.” 

Three areas where Ithaca may have an edge over Charlottesville are housing, encouraging the universities to locate employees in the downtown area and events.

While housing development is taking place in downtown Charlottesville, officials acknowledged that they have only recently begun focusing on it. In contrast, the Gateway Commons, Cityview Apartments, Cayuga Place apartments and soon-to-be constructed Cayuga Green condominiums will combine to bring several hundred new residents to downtown Ithaca in the near future. The median selling price of a home in Charlottesville is $295,000 compared to under $200,000 in Ithaca. Charlottesville has community-wide housing goals, but none for its downtown specifically and affordable housing is an issue city officials there said they are working on. In contrast, downtown Ithaca’s current 10 year strategy has specific goals for housing in it and the new strategy that’s currently under development is expected to have them as well.  

Charlottesville and the University of Virginia have a good working relationship according to both city and university officials, but the university does not have a significant number of employees working in their downtown. Cornell University currently has 300 employees working in downtown Ithaca.

Charlottesville officials stated several times that a crowd of a few thousand for an event on their pedestrian mall is considered a good one, but in comparison, the D.I.A.-sponsored downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off and Apple Harvest festivals draw crowds of about 15,000 each. 

The fact-finding trip included two Q and A sessions with Charlottesville officials in which they discussed a number of different issues.

  • They indicated that like Ithaca, they struggle to attract college students to their downtown and to encourage local residents to visit on a regular basis. The first-run movie theater, a restored performing arts theater similar to Ithaca’s State Theater, the ice skating rink and outdoor amphitheater are helping those efforts.
  • A $7.5 Million reconstruction and utility upgrade for the entire pedestrian mall will take place next year. City officials say numerous public meetings were held in which merchants and the public told them to keep the work simple and do it fast. 
  • Construction of the upscale hotel at one end of the pedestrian mall helped rejuvenate that end of it, which was suffering before the hotel was built.

D.I.A. staff and board members were joined on the trip by employees of the City of Ithaca and representatives of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Cornell University.

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