The site plan review for Gates Hall — the last city approval necessary for the building’s construction — was unanimously approved by the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board at a meeting Tuesday. 

The Seneca Way apartment project won final approval from the Ithaca Planning and Development Board Tuesday night.

Preliminary sketch plans were released in August for a new building at 107 Cook St., the site of the May 6 fire that killed Brian Lo ’11 and destroyed the original house on that lot.

The City of Ithaca discusses the importance and the pros and cons of allowing City residents to raise chickens in their backyards.

The City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board held a public hearing yesterday at City Hall to hear concerns over the proposed plan for Collegetown. The plan, known as Part One of the 2009 Collegetown Urban Plan and Conceptual Design Guidelines, proposes a number of revisions to the current zoning of Collegetown, including raising height limits in central districts, improving access and the price of parking and increasing mixed-use development. In addition, there are a number of proposed changes to the maximum heights in some of Collegetown’s residential districts. These plans have been met with criticism from a number of members of the Ithaca community.

Downtown Ithaca may get a wardrobe change after building plans for an Urban Outfitters on Green Street gained preliminary approval from the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board on Tuesday. Set to open by mid-summer, the store will add variety to students’ local shopping options.

Urban Outfitters will occupy the majority of the ground floor beneath Cayuga Green, a new mixed-use apartment building on Green Street. The overall Cayuga Green project includes a small cinema being built across the street.

David Levy, the architect who represented Urban Outfitters Inc. to the planning board, revealed plans to break ground by late March or early April. Next month the board will vote on the final approval of the renovations necessary for the project.