IN THE PRESS
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Press Release, Susan Holland is stepping down as Executive Director of Historic Ithaca, October 2024
Historic Ithaca’s Executive Director, Susan Holland, has stepped down from her role to take a new position in the community. Susan has been at the helm of Historic Ithaca since November 2017. In her seven years there, she has led the organization through the COVID-pandemic, advocated to save buildings with successful outcomes with the Stone House in Enfield and the “Red House” in Ithaca and is a founding member of CR0WD (Circularity, Reuse Zero Waste Development)...
City of Ithaca Announces First “Bloc” of Building Electrification Projects
New Flash, City of Ithaca
ITHACA, NY -- City of Ithaca Announces First “Bloc” of Building Electrification Projects, as City Progresses into the next phase of Green New Deal
Diverse portfolio of small business and non-profit buildings represents $1.9 million in clean energy investments, including businesses ranging from restaurants and retail to theaters, churches, and office space.
Ithaca, New York, set ‘totally crazy’ climate goals. Here’s what happened next.
Christian Science Monitor
... Earlier this year, for instance, Mr. Bodnaruk worked with Susan Holland, executive director of Historic Ithaca, a preservation group, to find incentives to offset the cost of retrofitting her office building from the 1910s (once a grocery) and an attached 1880s architectural salvage store (once a carriage repair shop).
“They saved us 65 percent in replacement from gas to heat pumps,” Ms. Holland explains, pointing out the new mini-splits placed along the ceiling. “As a preservation organization, we are demonstrating that this can be done.”
But she and Mr. Bodnaruk say they also recognize the huge challenges around town.
2023 Preservation Awards
Ithaca Journal
ITHACA, NY -- An Ithaca-based nonprofit, Historic Ithaca, presented awards Thursday at Argos Warehouse to a range of projects completed throughout Tompkins County this year and to a former executive director, Alphonse Pieper, for his many years of working to preserve the area's history.
This year’s winners include a barn in Trumansburg...
Cascadilla Boathouse Gets Makeover, Restored to Original Shingle Style
Ithaca Times
ITHACA, NY -- More than 120 years after it was built, Cascadilla Boathouse is being restored to its original shingle-style architecture.
Originally built 1894-1896, the boathouse was constructed for the Cascadilla School, a Cornell prep school still in existence on Summit Street in Ithaca.
“If you look at their building now and then look at the boathouse, you’ll see similarities,” Susan Holland, executive director of Historic Ithaca, said.
Not Your Ordinary Salvage Store
Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine
Over the past 30 years, Significant Elements has evolved from a small, volunteer-run effort into a full-fledged nonprofit architectural salvage store. Residing in an 1880s warehouse on Center Street in Ithaca’s Southside neighborhood, Significant Elements is the go-to regional resource for building renovation, restoration and DIY inspiration. The store is a program of Historic Ithaca, Tompkins County’s 55-year-old nonprofit historic preservation organization.
Letter to the Editor: Let’s not dump Ithaca’s buildings into the landfill
Ithaca Voice
Ithaca’s recent effort to create and implement an Energy Code Supplement is a vital step to address our global climate crisis. These policies for new construction will help create more sustainable buildings and a more livable future for us all. But a complementary element is missing as we seek to move along a greener and more sustainable path: We need a plan for construction and demolition debris.
State awards Tompkins County $4.4 million in Economic Grants
Ithaca Voice
ITHACA, N.Y. — In an announcement Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative announced a $4.4 million financial infusion to Tompkins County, to be split among 19 local projects.
YOUR TURN: Preserving the Chacona Block
Ithaca Journal
The Chacona Block was built by Greek immigrant John N. Chacona in about 1911-12. The building with the charming street-level storefronts and stucco exterior is relatively unadorned, with lion’s heads and a Greek cross the main ornamentation. Designed by local architect John Wilgus, the Chacona Block represents the energy and successful entrepreneurship of a Greek immigrant whose building was later sold to other Greek American business owners.
Youths Help Preserve Ithaca City Cemetery
Ithaca Journal
Four Ithaca-area teens have worked this summer on a grave task: Preserving 16 acres of Ithaca city history equipped with nothing more than mortar, some hand tools and advice from a masonry specialist.
The Ithaca City Cemetery, a venerable hillside plot wedged between Cornell University and the valley below, has seen its former luster fade over the years, filled to the brim with graves dating over three centuries and no funds to fix it.