Pride of Ownership Awards 2019

Frost Travis opened the Pride of Ownership Awards presentation at our December 4 meeting, introducing the committee and the history of the awards.

Susan Blumenthal served on the City's Planning Board in the early 1990s, when the City started doing site plan review. She felt strongly that property owners and developers who went the extra mile with new projects and renovations of their properties should receive recognition for their contribution. Susan approached Don Kompf, then president of Ithaca Rotary, when she was on Common Council and he agreed. Thus the Rotary/City partnership was born in 1997, with first awards made in 1998. Susan is retiring from the Awards Committee this year, 2019.

Nominations for awards are made by members of the public, the Rotary Club of Ithaca and the Pride of Ownership Committee. All nominated properties lie within the boundaries of the City of Ithaca and are referenced from a public road or street without regard to interior workings. Criteria for the award are the project’s contributions to the betterment of the community by its addition to the cityscape. Over the years a wide variety of projects have been recognized. The focus is on honoring owners for having the acumen to decide on a projects constructs.

The committee is Frost Travis, Susan Blumenthal, Scott Whitham, John Barradas, Brett Bossard, and Margaret Hobbie.

The winning properties are

323 Taughannock Blvd. Boat House Landing
319 Pleasant Street
324 E. State Street, The Canopy Hotel
105 Dearborn Road
433 West Buffalo Street
301 State Street, City Centre
238 Linden Avenue

Please download the official awards document, with sometimes striking before and after photos, and John Barradas’ iconic drawings. Click here.