Lindsay France/University Photography

Joel Malina, left, Cornell University's vice president for university relations, and Svante Myrick '09, mayor of Ithaca, announce that a branch of the Cornell Store will open on the downtown Ithaca Commons.

Cornell University, the city of Ithaca and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance announced March 31 that the university will open a Cornell Store on the Ithaca Commons later this spring. The announcement was made as part of a Cornell-sponsored regional conference on town-gown economic development held in downtown Ithaca.

The store will be located at 102 E. State St., on the west end of the Commons, and will feature 1,700 square feet of retail space that will be subject to property taxes. No local retailers currently offer a complete collection of Cornell insignia merchandise in the downtown area.

“We are pleased about this win-win project for both community and campus. The Commons is a world-class destination, and a visible Cornell presence will enhance both downtown and our local economy,” said Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09. “Initiatives like the growing higher-ed business incubator Rev and Seneca Place on the Commons – which houses hundreds of Cornell employees – also represent the progressive, collaborative planning that’s essential for Ithaca and the university going forward.”

Said Joel Malina, Cornell vice president for university relations: “A successful downtown Ithaca is essential to the success of Cornell, just as a well-functioning university benefits the city and Tompkins County. We cherish this community where thousands of our students, staff and faculty live, volunteer and do business. The Cornell Store will be a great addition for the Commons and for those who visit downtown from near and far. It’s a great day.”

“Across the country, there are excellent examples of universities that have used their campus stores as economic development engines and stimuli for downtown retail growth, such as Madison, Wisconsin, and Lowell, Massachusetts,” said Gary Ferguson, executive director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. “The opening of a Cornell campus store in downtown Ithaca at this strategic location will be a great boost for downtown retailing and should send a strong signal to others that downtown is an important retail marketplace for our community. We are grateful to Cornell for this commitment to our community.”

The new store will create several new full-time and part-time jobs. The Cornell Store also has a branch at the Shops at Ithaca Mall.

The Regional Town-Gown Economic Development Conference, at which the announcement was made, focused on the growing role of higher education for Northeast college-town economies. The topics discussed included housing, infrastructure, business incubators, downtown challenges and opportunities, and town-gown collaborations. About 90 participants attended, included private sector, nonprofit and higher-ed leaders from Geneseo and Syracuse, New York, as well as from Amherst, Massachusetts, and Burlington, Vermont.