City in discussions to sell Collegetown garage for mixed-use project

In Collegetown, the phrase “garage sale” is taking on a whole new meaning. The City of Ithaca is moving to sell the aging Dryden Road parking garage to a private developer that plans to build a new parking garage and hotel on the site. The Common Council voted 10-1 on Oct. 28 to transfer ownership of the garage at 118 Dryden Road to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA), an public benefit corporation that exists to promote economic development in Ithaca, but is legally independent of the city. By transferring the property to the IURA, the city can avoid certain legal requirements that typically apply to municipal property sales. Normally, the city would have to sell the property through an auction or sealed bidding process. The IURA will negotiate a deal with the developers seeking to build a hotel in Collegetown on the city s behalf. That deal will be subject to a vote of approval by the Common Council. The hotel proposal comes from Ithaca-based Robertson Developm