Over $75M in real estate to be auctioned in largest foreclosure in town's history
Over a dozen properties worth over $75 million will be up for auction of April 29 in Ithaca and nearby Lansing.
Ithaca, which is known for its beautiful surrounding scenery and vibrant arts scene, is home to the Ivy League Cornell University.
The properties are located on Cornell University land that was leased to private developers.
'I believe this is the largest real estate foreclosure in Ithaca's history,' Costa Lambrou of Lambrou Real Estate told The Cornell Daily Sun.
The properties were originally part of a 2024 foreclosure lawsuit initiated by the Tompkins Community Bank against a group of real estate companies connected to prolific developer Phil Proujansky.
The companies linked to Proujansky defaulted on a $68 million mortgage, which resulted in zero payments since September 2023.
The real estate up for auction includes 17 pieces of land.
The properties are located near Ithaca Tompkins International Airport on Thornwood Drive, Brown Road, Brentwood Drive and Arrowwood Drive.
The upcoming auction comes after Cornell bought a foreclosed property last month for $15 million.
The building, which is over 50,000 square feet, includes 26 residential units and houses Jason's Deli convenience store.
'We are excited to work with local leaders, business owners, and community neighbors on advancing shared goals in this area and, by extension, our city,' a Cornell spokesperson said.
The building was owned by Proujansky and the late John Novarr before its February 2024 foreclosure.
Cornell employee Jeremy Thomas explained the financial importance of leasing the land.
'[The foreclosed properties] are around loans that were made specifically to the improvements on the properties,' Thomas said.
'So Cornell does own the land, but those are under a long term ground lease with the entity that actually owns the buildings themselves. … They're responsible for paying the loans that they take out on those buildings.'
Thomas added that leasing around Cornell Business & Technology Park (CBTP) was crucial so they could see how potential developments could impact students, teachers, and other university priorities.
Cornell employee Jeremy Thomas hopes the university will forge a strong partnership with the new foreclosed property owners
Novarr and Proujansky had hinted at a project in Ithaca's Collegetown neighborhood before it went public in 2020.
By then, the pair already owned several Collegetown properties worth more than $15.5 million and bought the former Nines building for over $3 million.
The project was comprised of five Collegetown sites, including 17 properties.
Dubbed the 'Innovation District,' the $145 million project was scheduled to begin construction in 2021 and end this winter.
Unfortunately, the only portion of the project completed before the foreclosures was Catherine Commons, which completed construction last December.
Their plans slowly fell apart, leading to one foreclosure after another.
Other businessmen swooped in to purchase the buildings, including Charlie O'Connor and Nick Robertson.
Following project failure, Novarr kept a low profile until his death in September 2024, and Proujansky has stayed out of the public eye.
Thomas revealed that it was 'very unlikely' Cornell would purchase any of the other foreclosed properties.
However, if the bank were to take ownership of the properties, the school would consider buying them.
Thomas hopes to forge a partnership with the next property owners to ensure that CBTP continues to thrive.
'It is important for us that a [new] owner of these properties comes forward [who] can be a good strategic partner to the universities and the objectives that we have here,' Thomas said.
'So we will be a partner with whoever that owner is, and we want to work to find somebody that would be a good partner to the University in the region.'
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