Summary
Facilities Director Arel LeMaro walked through the nearly final design: which departments go where, geothermal heating, rooftop solar, and a bid schedule with bids due in early January and award in February. Members pressed on parking losses, the grand jury room location, and salvaging materials before demolition.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 9
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Sep 17, 2026.
Impact analysis
About $6 million remains of the originally reserved $9 million for the project; grant applications for exterior work and permeable pavement are underway.
County residents get a modern, accessible one-stop government building; downtown municipalities could benefit from salvaged materials.
Downtown parking capacity shrinks with the loss of the garage and project spaces; nearby historic buildings face construction risk.
Mentions & discussions (10)
Facilities and Infrastructure Committee - Regular Meeting — September 17, 2026
Facilities Director Arel LeMaro walked through the nearly final design: which departments go where, geothermal heating, rooftop solar, and a bid schedule with bids due in early January and award in February. Members pressed on parking losses, the grand jury room location, and salvaging materials before demolition.
Tompkins County Board of Elections moving to downtown Ithaca
Tompkins County Board of Elections moving to downtown Ithaca The Ithaca Journal
Tompkins County Office for the Aging Relocating to New Ithaca Site
Tompkins County Office for the Aging Relocating to New Ithaca Site Finger Lakes Daily News
Tompkins County Legislature - Regular Meeting — June 16, 2026
Architects showed a reworked 45,000-square-foot, $50 million Center of Government that moves Administration, HR, and Planning out of the new building. Legislators debated department placement, parking losses, geothermal wells, and the cost of repeated design changes.
Facilities and Infrastructure Committee - Regular Meeting — May 21, 2026
The new downtown county office building is now 45,000 square feet with ten departments, still targeting the $50 million budget, with bidding this fall and award around January. Members flagged parking, bus access, and department placement as policy questions they want the full Legislature to weigh in on.
Tompkins County Legislature - Regular Meeting — April 7, 2026
McGuire Development pitched its Herald Square property as a faster, cheaper alternative for county government space — up to 60,000 square feet in under 18 months at $213/sq ft versus budgeted figures around $1,250/sq ft.
Public Safety Committee - Regular Meeting — March 24, 2026
The county allocated $1 million in 2024 to evaluate jail options, but the project is on hold until the central government center is bid out; significant work is expected in 2027, likely as a direct-supervision facility built from a clean slate.
Tompkins County Legislature - Regular Meeting — March 4, 2026
The Legislature spent hours debating whether to build the full 57,000 sq ft, $60 million county office building or a smaller ~40,000 sq ft, $45 million version — and rejected both. Last year's authorization of up to $48,000 sq ft and $50 million stands, and staff will rework the design to fit it. This decision shapes county taxes for decades, alongside competing needs like the jail, shelter, and possible countywide EMS.
Facilities and Infrastructure Committee - Regular Meeting — February 19, 2026
A resident urged the county to bond for essential projects like the public safety building — which needs updates for state raise-the-age rules — instead of the Center of Government. The chair noted several legislators share the public safety concern and that long-term space and finance planning is underway.
Tompkins County Legislature - Regular Meeting — January 21, 2026
A resident urged the county to cancel or pause the new Center of Government building and redirect capital money to the jail and public safety facility, arguing the jail has become the overflow for unmet mental health and housing needs.
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