I was quite excited to hear about the development plans for Ithaca. Being such a busy area with many people coming to visit, I think it is great that there are many plans to expand housing. I was surprised to hear that Ithaca’s vacancy rate is less than 0.5%. I did not know much about vacancy rates before this talk, but after the talk I now see that this is truly an issue. As Lisa told us, an ideal vacancy rate is around 5%. The low value of Ithaca’s vacancy is contributing to high housing costs. To improve the vacancy rate, there are a number of projects going on. I was also surprised at how little land Ithaca has vacant. Almost every inch of Ithaca is occupied to some extent which means building something new takes a great deal of creativity.

When Lisa discussed the plans for the new hotels near the commons, I was intrigued. I thought it was so cool how the companies had taken such small slivers of land and proposed an idea that not only meshed well with the feel of the commons but also created more rooms for visitors to stay in. I think it is really important for people to be aware of what is going on in their cities. This was very informative and honestly it was more interesting than I thought it would be! I am very glad I attended this event.