The Gem

This low-rise affordable housing complex in Ithaca offers a neighborhood design accommodating 16 townhouse buildings and a Community Center around a central green space. A gateway building provides a focal point at the main entrance, while the exteriors are designed to reflect the feeling of nearby rural farmhouses, blending and complementing the local landscape.

Each 2-story housing unit includes a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments. A community center offers additional amenities including computer facilities, meeting space, classroom space, laundry, and a fitness center.

The project was sited on the property in an environmentally responsible manner, taking into account the topography with a focus on creating common green spaces.

The houses are clustered to create smaller sub-neighborhoods, with adjacent green spaces for recre­ational activities. This layout fulfills one of the primary objectives of this complex which is to create an environment that promotes community.

The Overlook project has received an energy-efficiency designation from NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, making it the first in the country to participate in a new standard of energy efficiency for apartment buildings.

As NYSERDA’s program called the Energy Star Multifamily program, the project benefits from a grant to upgrade construction methods and materials which will decrease energy consumption and increase long term savings.