Fordham University Expansion at Lincoln Center

[tmg]

The New York Times
Fordham Plans Expansion at Lincoln Center
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

Published: February 23, 2005

Fordham University plans to more than double the size of its Lincoln Center campus in an ambitious expansion that would be financed partly by the sale or lease of two corner parcels on Amsterdam Avenue for luxury housing development.

Should the plan be realized, a high-rise quadrangle for 10,600 students would be created on the Columbus Avenue end of the superblock between 60th and 62nd Streets, with seven new buildings around a 1.5-acre courtyard. This ensemble would be overlooked by two apartment towers, one of which might reach nearly 60 stories.

"We don't have enough dormitory space, we don't have enough classroom space and we woefully lack faculty office space," said the Rev. Joseph M. McShane, the president of Fordham, a Jesuit university whose original campus is at Rose Hill in the Bronx.

Although the 2.378 million square feet of new development proposed by Fordham is allowed under zoning rules, it would greatly advance the steady march of Midtown Manhattan gigantism into the once low-rise precincts of Lincoln Square.

Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer, whom Fordham officials have shown the proposal, said: "They're a wonderful institution. On the other hand, those corner buildings are huge."

Ms. Brewer said she hoped "we can scale it back a bit and have some community amenities," like lower-cost housing, in line with the Jesuits' emphasis on social responsibility. She added that Fordham seemed "amenable to working with us."

Fordham officials said they had no choice but to pursue development, given the desirability and value of the Lincoln Center property. "The asset needs to become a performing asset, both educationally and monetarily," said Brian J. Byrne, the vice president for administration.

Built for about 3,500 students, the seven-acre Lincoln Center campus now serves 8,000 students, more than are found on Rose Hill's 85 acres.

At Lincoln Center are the four-story Law School; the 12-story Leon Lowenstein Center, shared by three graduate schools and Fordham College at Lincoln Center; the 20-story McMahon Hall dormitory, with 822 beds; and Quinn Library, under an elevated plaza. Fordham also leases office space in the neighborhood.

The expansion plan, by Cooper, Robertson & Partners, has been filed with the City Planning Department for review. Amanda M. Burden, the department director, said yesterday that she would focus, among other things, on how the proposal related to the neighborhood and affected street life.

Under the $300 million first phase, to be finished in five or six years, a new 16-story Law School and five-story campus center would be built, the library would be expanded into an eight-story structure and the Amsterdam Avenue parcels would be sold or leased.

The plan outlines the potential for a 47-story apartment building and 26-story dormitory at 60th Street and a 57-story, 621-foot apartment building at 62nd Street. This would be 222 feet higher than the nearby Alfred condominium, which occupies the only part of the superblock that Fordham never controlled, as it was the site of Power Memorial Academy until 1984.

The north tower would present one of the starker architectural expressions in New York of the gulf between classes: a luxury skyscraper opposite Amsterdam Houses, a modestly scaled public housing project.

"It's one of the ironies of the situation in which we find ourselves," Father McShane said, "that the sale of the parcels on the Amsterdam Avenue end will enable us - we believe, and believe strongly - to be more effective in our mission" of inculcating students with a sense of duty to address social injustice and remember the poor.

Financing for the expansion would come from fund-raising, additional tuition from increased enrollment and borrowing through bonds. The goal of the development deal is to create an endowment that will generate enough income to cover two-thirds of the debt service. University officials would not say how much they expected to earn from a sale or lease.

"We're seeing more and more of this: The use of real estate development to underwrite not-for-profit programming," said Hope Cohen, the chairwoman of Community Board 7, adding that the concept warranted greater examination as a matter of public policy.

Under the second phase of Fordham's expansion, which would probably not be finished before 2025, the old Law School would be razed and replaced by a 21-story dormitory.

Two near-twin buildings of 35 and 36 stories would rise on Columbus Avenue, flanking a new campus entrance. These would include dormitory space on the upper floors and would be shared by Fordham College, the School of Business and the Graduate Schools of Social Service and Education.

Alexander Cooper of Cooper, Robertson described the proposal as "the most New York solution" because it concentrated building density on the corners and around the perimeter of the block, preserving a verdant enclave in the middle.

Father McShane said, "We want to make sure we maintain at the center of campus the green space that has been so much a community resource for the last 40 years."

He added, "We'll make it far more accessible to the public than it has been."

Land use on the site is currently governed by a 1966 agreement that will expire next January. Building heights are limited to 200 feet, and buildings cannot cover more than 35 percent of the site. Fordham proposes to cover 63 percent of the site. Seven buildings would be taller than 200 feet. The restrictions limit the number of parking spaces to 35. The university proposes 595 spaces - 265 for its faculty and staff, 330 for the apartment residents - for which it still must receive a special permit from the city.

Fordham is also seeking modification of the rules governing building bulk in the Lincoln Square special zoning district. That may be where Community Board 7 and Ms. Brewer draw a line. "I would prefer that their plan falls within the guidelines," she said.

University officials emphasized that they are not seeking an "upzoning"; that is, an increase in allowable density. They said the Fordham site could accommodate 3.02 million square feet of space as a matter of right, since the 302,000-square-foot property sits in a zoning district that permits buildings with 10 times more floor area than the lot size.

Existing university buildings have 791,000 square feet of floor area, but 148,000 square feet of that would be demolished. The university would build 1.147 million square feet of academic space and 530,000 square feet of dormitory space, roughly 1,565 beds. The apartment towers would account for 701,000 square feet.

[billyblancoNYC]

As far as the sheer size...very impressive. Now, let's see some innovative design work.

[billyblancoNYC]

Pics...

[TonyO]

As a Fordham grad from the Lincoln Center campus, I know first hand that they have long outgrown that space. The area is much more dense than the current buildings. Making the now semi-private open space public is a step in the right direction.

[NYguy]

Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer, whom Fordham officials have shown the proposal, said: "They're a wonderful institution. On the other hand, those corner buildings are huge."

Ms. Brewer said she hoped "we can scale it back a bit and have some community amenities," like lower-cost housing, in line with the Jesuits' emphasis on social responsibility. She added that Fordham seemed "amenable to working with us."

Must they nip and pick at everything?

[TonyO]

A couple pics of the current site:

http://www.therealdeal.net/breaking_news/2005/02/23/images/1109159101.jpg

[harvard7]

hello?
Must they nip and pick at everything?

[harvard7]

where did u get this 3D digital?



Pics...

[billyblancoNYC]

where did u get this 3D digital?

Um...I think it was in the Times.

[harvard7]

thanks.
I live in the Alfred Condo, so I am interested in following what's up with the development plans..

[Stern]

Are you what they would they say, a NIMBY?

[Derek2k3]

E-mail from Coalition for a Livable West Side

Fordham University - Update from CB7 Presentation, June 15, 2005
o Proposed 2,378 million square feet of new development - W. 60th- W. 62nd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue.
o Have filed an application with a 30-40 year plan to City Planning Commission.
o To be built in two phases.
o NeedsVariances - ie - asking for changes in zoning regulations - requesting height and set-back variances.
o Phase I (1.5 million sq. ft. of development includes:
some academic buildings and a library.;
two huge residential towers (one 50 and one of 60 stories) on Amsterdam Avenue between 6oth and 62nd Street.;
two mixed use buildings (includes dormitory space) Columbus between 60th and 62nd Street. Northeast corner (45 stories - 447 ft.) and Southeast corner (45 stories - 449 ft.)
o There will be a scoping session at which the public can make suggestions about what should be included in the Environmental Impact Statement.
o After the scoping session, the firm of AKRF will prepare the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
o The DEIS will be presented to the community at a Public Hearing. Comments from the Public will be included in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

Additional background:
o In 1969, under the Urban Renewal program, Fordham was sold the entire property for $3 million. The Urban Renewal agreement runs with the land for 40 years. During that time, the land could only be used for educational purposes.
o In 1988 or 1989 (checking the year), Fordham said that in order to build a dormitory, it was selling a parcel of land next to the Alfred I (dubbed the Alfred II) to a private developer. The Coalition for a Livable West Side opposed the deal and submitted an air quality analysis to the Department of City Planning. (still looking for a copy of it). Coalition suggested that Fordham build the dormitory with NYS Dormitory Bonds. They rejected it. Their deal with the developer fell through and they built the dormitory using the Dormitory Bonds.


"Comment: This community cannot absorb this development. It must be rejected. The Coalition for a Livable West Side will actively fight this project and will keep you informed."

[sfenn1117]

"Comment: This community cannot absorb this development. It must be rejected. The Coalition for a Livable West Side will actively fight this project and will keep you informed."

:mad: :mad: :mad: This is ridiculous! Shut these nimbys up and let the university expand. I would love to see these new towers in that area!

[TLOZ Link5]

When the Lincoln Square towers were being built in the early '90s, how bad was the community opposition?

[harvard7]

what is a nimby?

[fioco]

Harvard7, consult your Oxford:
NIMBY /nimbi/ n. (pl. NIMBYs) (often attrib.) a person who objects to unwanted groups or developments appearing in his or her neighbourhood. [not in my back yard]

[TonyO]

NY Post

FORDHAM IN FISCH TALE

By LOIS WEISS

September 14, 2005 -- FORDHAM University is apparently in contract to sell its Lincoln Center area development parcels to New Jersey's Fisch family of Continental Properties.
Sources tell us that the family, known for residential developments throughout the Garden State, will make the move across the Hudson River to expand its name and diversify its holdings.

While the price could not be confirmed, the University needed the sale to bring in at least $300 million to fund its own redevelopment plan that would double the size of that campus. That would put the price tag at more than $420 per foot for what could amount to over 701,000 feet in two towers on the corners of the Amsterdam Avenue campus. One at 60th Street could be 47 stories and one on 62nd Street could rise to 57 stories.

The university would use the money to develop seven new buildings for itself around a 1.5-acre courtyard.

Commercial broker Seena Stein, who heads Newmark Real Estate of New Jersey and is familiar with the family but not the Fordham deal, said, "They are a wonderful family and we've had only good experiences with them." Continental also owns the office building at One Woodbridge Center.

Neither university officials nor the Fisches returned calls for comment prior to press time.

[krulltime]

The university would use the money to develop seven new buildings for itself around a 1.5-acre courtyard.

I wonder where this is at? It could be that little park that they have between their buildings.

Please tell me if I am wrong... But this is what I think might happen:

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/49248292.Fordham.JPG

[kliq6]

this is an exciting plan

[TonyO]

Krulltime, It was my understanding that they would tear down the law school (NE corner of site and your diagram, low-rise) for a new structute. The courtyard that has the two rows of trees in the center would be saved.

[krulltime]

^ Thast good that the Law school is gettting demolish... Been close to Lincoln Center... They lack retail... a good place for more restaurants.

Well that is if retail is in the plan. If is another building with green or a blank wall then they are not taking potential advantage of the area.

[krulltime]

Fordham University expansion plan criticized


http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1129841014_fordham1.gif


20-OCT-05

The land-use committee of Community Board 7 last night expressed many concerns about the planned major redevelopment by Fordham University of its Lincoln Center campus.

Richard Asche, the chairman of the committee, remarked at the end of the lengthy meeting that he did not "think Columbia [University] ever did anything this bad," a reference to the perpetual town/gown conflicts of both Columbia and New York universities with their expansion in their neighborhoods.

Fordham has been meeting with the city’s Department of Planning prior to having its plans "certified" into the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP). Last spring, the university gave the community board a presentation of its plans, but a spokesman for the University, Joseph Muriana, told the committee last night that the plans had since been refined.

Hope Cohen, the board chairperson, wrote Amanda M. Burden, the chairperson of the City Planning Commission September 20 to express the board’s "deep and extensive concerns" about the university’s master plan. "The Fordham Master Plan...," her letter stated, "would create a superblock campus walled off from its neighbors, our community. Fordham proposes 35- and 36-story academic/dormitory buildings...along the Columbus Avenue frontage of the campus (West 60th Street to West 62nd Street). It proposes lower fortress walls of academic/dormitory buildings (5-21 stories...)along West 60th Street and West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues."

"And," her letter continued, "it proposes to pay for much of this construction by selling two parcels along Amsterdam Avenue to a private developer for development of luxury residential buildings to tower over Amsterdam Houses to the west (47-story building...at Amsterdam & West 60th Street; 57-story building...at Amsterdam & West 62nd Street."

Her letter maintained that "essentially, Fordham wants to take itself out" of the Special Lincoln Square Special District. In addition, the letter questioned the use of real estate development to underwrite not-for-profit capital and programming costs.

An article by Lois Weiss last month in The New York Post said that Fordham was "apparently in contract to sell its Lincoln Center area development parcels to New Jersey’s Fisch family of Continental Properties," adding that "while the price could not be confirmed, the University needs the sale to bring in at least $300 million to fund its own redevelopment plan that would double the size of that campus."

Mr. Muriana, assistant vice president of government and public affairs for the university, told the committee that the university will share refinements to the plan with the community and that it is a 25-year plan.

Michael Groll, the president of 44 West 62nd Corporation, the cooperative board of a nearby building, told the subcommittee that his building and 5 others on Columbus Avenue were concerned about Fordham’s expansion plans. "We were shocked" that it plans a more "fortress-like" plan that would put the campus "further away from its neighbors."

"Ignoring the region’s overwhelming traffic congestion and its attendant pollution, Fordham’s proposal calls for an explosive growth in parking on the site from 35 to 595 cars, a 17-fold increase!" declared Sidney Goldfischer, the president of the Alfred condo association of 161 West 61st Street, who spoke in opposition to the university’s plan and also wrote a lengthy letter about it to the committee.

Open public spaces, he continued, would be reduced by 50 percent, adding that "The Law School, library and new dormitory would be so close to the existing buildings that they would virtually re-create the dark and stifling airshafts of the 19th Century tenements that were condemned and demolished in 1957."


Copyright © 1994-2005 CITY REALTY.COM INC.

[ablarc]

Fortress is ok; nothing wrong with a campus looking inward, provided only that the ground floor streetwall gives the city its due; and that generally means retail.

[gradvmedusa]

Haven't seen this posted yet
http://www.cb7.org/fordham.pdf in my view (that of a Fordham student who wants this to happen for many reasons) they do raise some valid objections, and I like the idea of an arcade, as it is I feel Fordham students are a bit cut off from the community at large and vice versa, I think it would be nice to have greater pedestrian access to/from Lincoln Center as well.

[Stern]

http://www.douglastondevelopment.com/projects/current/img/160west62.jpg

160 West 62nd Street

New York, NY

Douglaston Development is in pre-development on a luxury condominium project to be located at 160 West 62nd Street, next door to Lincoln Center and Damrosch Park. The project is being developed in conjunction with Continental Properties. The design architect is Cesar Pelli & Associates.

Upon completion, the project is anticipated to have 300 luxury condominium homes in a 55+ story glass tower, an outdoor garden for residents and a high-end restaurant. The second floor of the building will be dedicated to an extensive amenity package, including a designer spa, fitness center, pool, screening room, and business center.

Levine Builders will be providing construction management services for this project.

[hey19932]

I LOVE the design:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Derek2k3]

Nice, but still does not compare to res. designs other cities are getting. According to the Times article on the first page it's 57 stories 621 feet.

160 West 62nd Street
150-164 West 62nd Street/ 49-51 Amsterdam Avenue
57 stories 621 feet
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (Cesar Pelli & Associates )
Dev-Douglaston Development
Residential Condominium
300 units
Proposed

[antinimby]

621 ft. pre-NIMBY-fication, 0 ft. post-NIMBY-fication. :D

"Comment: This community cannot absorb this development. It must be rejected. The Coalition for a Livable West Side will actively fight this project and will keep you informed."

[ablarc]

Every project has to run this gauntlet. Some survive, some don't.

Gotta be a better way.

[czsz]

What is the Coalition for the Liveable West Side doing about the demolition of the 1880s building at Broadway and 72nd? If nothing, I'd just like to write these people off as another organisation for the selfish protection of their own sunlight and views.

[ablarc]

^ Good point. That building should be landmarked.

Hello? Where's the Commission? Where are the NIMBYs when they can do some good?

[londonlawyer]

What is the Coalition for the Liveable West Side doing about the demolition of the 1880s building at Broadway and 72nd? If nothing, I'd just like to write these people off as another organisation for the selfish protection of their own sunlight and views.

I could not agree more. Also, what about the stunning townhouses on West 56th?

[gradvmedusa]

Coalition for a Livable West Side, a luaghable name if I ever heard one, is if I am not mistaken mostly made up of residents of The South Park Tower and The Alfred, though I may be thinking of another group. Look at there little graphic at the bottom of the page, it's clear what they care about is things like views. Snobs. http://www.livablenewyork.org/

[czsz]

The irony is that when the next big "megaproject" goes up, the people living in the Trump development will be members of the group.

[vc10]

Indeed. If you look at the Coalition's latest newsletter, you'll see they're complaining about the effect the new construction on lower West End Ave has on the people living in 75 and 101 WEA -- which are themselves giant relatively recent developments.

Environmentally, there's nothing better than high-density development, and so far as I know, no one on the upper west side is living there against their will. If it all gets a bit too much, they can move...

The irony is that when the next big "megaproject" goes up, the people living in the Trump development will be members of the group.

[Peteynyc1]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they lost when it comes to Trump's Westside :eek:

[TonyO]

Exerpt from today's NY Sun article:

Fordham University plans a major expansion at its Lincoln Center campus. Last August, the university announced a multi-year, $1 billion proposed master plan to add 1.5 million square feet of academic, student activity, and dormitory space at its Manhattan campus. This plan must win approval from the city.

Fordham's seven-acre Lincoln Center campus was originally built to accommodate about 3,500 students; there are now more than 8,000 students enrolled. The development of the Lincoln Center campus will begin with the expansion of Quinn Library and the construction of a new Law School building, a new student center, a dormitory, and additional parking. The plan includes a 26-story dormitory at West 60th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. In the second phase, the law school building will be replaced by a 21-story dormitory.

[stache]

Exerpt from today's NY Sun article:
In the second phase, the law school building will be replaced by a 21-story dormitory.

Is that the fabulous Dutch Baroque Revival building?????

[pianoman11686]

We've seen this rendering already, so I guess this isn't really an "update," but I'll post it anyway:

From http://cityrealty.com/new_developments

New tall condo tower near Lincoln Center 02-AUG-06

The website of Douglaston Development indicates that it is “in pre-development on a luxury condominium project to be located at 160 West 62nd Street.”

“The project,” the website continued, “is being developed in conjunction with Continental Properties. The design architect is Cesar Pelli & Associates. Upon completion, the project is anticipated to have 300 luxury condominium homes in a 55+ story glass tower, an outdoor garden for residents and a high-end restaurant. The second floor of the building will be dedicated to an extensive amenity package, including a designer spa, fitness center, screening room, and business center.”

A call by CityRealty.com to Jeffrey E. Levine, a principal of Douglaston Development, to learn details about the project and its construction schedule, was not returned today.

The tower would rise on the southeast corner of 62nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue just to the north of the 38-story Alfred apartment building at 161 West 61st Street, and to the east of a Fordham University campus that is south of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The new building, which conceiveably could be as tall as about 620 feet, would serve as a southern foil to the 60-story apartment building known as 3 Lincoln Center on the northeast corner of 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue with both towers framing the western boundaries of Lincoln Center.

Cesar Pelli & Associates, which is now known as Pelli Clarke Pelli Associates, is the architect of the World Financial Center at Battery Park City and One Beacon Court on the former site of Alexander’s Department Store on the full block bounded by Lexington and Third Avenues and 58th and 59th Streets.

Douglaston Development is nearing completion of a condominium apartment tower at 325 Fifth Avenue and its other projects in Manhattan include the Zinc, a 21-unit residential condominium building planned for 475 Greenwich Street, and a 28-unit dormitory for the School of Visual Arts at 101 East Tenth Street at Third Avenue.

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1154556894_62w160b.gif

[LeCom]

Ugh... I try to be tolerant, careful, reasobable and understanding in my opinions, but let me say this: let's go get some bats and shovels and bum rush those nimbys. Stick a firecracker up their ass. They are just... ugh.

[finnman69]

Amusing that the high end condos are being built up right across the street from these terrible projects.

[finnman69]

Look at there little graphic at the bottom of the page, it's clear what they care about is things like views. Snobs. http://www.livablenewyork.org/

That's the bottom line,protecting THEIR views and THEIR cheap rents.

[LeCom]

These old farts need to learn to spell "massive" before setting up websites, and that's probably the least faulty thing about the website.

It's a great entertaining read though, thanks for the link.

http://www.livablenewyork.org/riverside-south.htm

My thoughts: Trump's development has overstepped the line in Trump Place on several occasions and made pretty grave violations, yet they're blasting the kid for all the wrong reasons.

Once again: I suggest that we beat those nimbies with a cinder block.

[TonyO]

NY Sun

Fordham Has Big Plans for Lincoln Square Campus

BY ELIOT BROWN - Special to the Sun
July 26, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/59158

Fordham University is charging ahead with plans to add up to 2 million square feet to its modest Lincoln Square campus, tripling the size of the Jesuit institution's facilities while building a giant complex of modern structures on the mostly undeveloped site. The project, which faces its first public hearing in September, re-envisions the 1960s-style campus, adding dorms, classroom space, and private condominium towers.

"We have approximately 106 gross square feet per student, while the other universities in Manhattan average 388 gross square feet per student," an associate vice president at Fordham, Joseph Muriana, said. The vision for its West Side campus — a superblock between 60th and 62nd streets bounded by Amsterdam and Columbus avenues — would transform the site into a complex lined with towering dorms, a new building for a law school, a campus center, and two private residential skyscrapers.

Fordham is one of a fleet of colleges and universities in New York City looking to expand in Manhattan. Citing competition from other schools and a need to increase academic programming, the institutions are seeking to build at the very time that real estate prices are soaring and the desire for developable land is at an all-time high.

The schools include Columbia University, which is pushing forward a 17-acre expansion into West Harlem, and New York University, which has a goal of increasing its space by one-third over the next 25 years. Other big developments include City University of New York's $350 million expansion of John Jay College, a new scientific research building for the CUNY Graduate Center, and new space in the works for New York Law School and the New School.

The motive behind Fordham mirrors that of the other institutions: Increased demand at its Lincoln Center campus has left the undergraduate and graduate school well past the intended capacity, and the school wants to boost its academic offerings. The majority of the university is housed in an 85-acre site in the Bronx, and the school also has a satellite campus in Tarrytown.

While NYU and Columbia are rapidly expanding beyond their original campuses, Fordham vows to stay within its existing footprint. The university is confining its construction to infill development at the site, which was first acquired in the 1950s from the city for roughly $2.5 million. Fordham acquired the site after the city used eminent domain to claim the area before the creation of Lincoln Center.

Even though Fordham is limiting its growth to within its own campus, its proposal has sparked heavy criticism in the surrounding community, where neighbors claim the development would be an overwhelming "fortress" that would clash with the scale and character of the neighborhood.

Residents of the neighboring buildings have been meeting for more than a year to discuss the proposal, and residents of a condominium building on the northeast corner of the superblock by 62nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the Alfred, have hired a lawyer to attempt to force the university to downsize the project.

"Fordham is really trying to push forward a project that will overwhelm the community in terms of services, traffic, and other aspects of our infrastructure," a resident who has been vocal in criticizing the plan, Michael Groll, said. "They want to put up buildings along Columbus Avenue that would create a fortress-like superblock."

Mr. Groll was also critical of the university's plan to sell off a portion of the site to private condominium developers to raise revenue. The concept is unethical, he said, given that Fordham acquired the site with the understanding that it be used for educational purposes.

Other critics contend the sale would actually be illegal, as a provision in the original site plan prevents Fordham from selling the land for private development.

"As far as we're concerned, legally they have no right to sell this property," the president of the condominium association at the Alfred, Sidney Goldfischer, said.

Residents at the Alfred have hired a real estate attorney, Elliott Meisel, who said he is considering taking legal action on the issue.

Fordham rejects this argument, pointing out that the original city-administered site plan from the 1950s has expired. "We've been running lots of education programs, graduated thousands of people, and there are no restrictions anymore — we kept our agreement with the city," Mr. Muriana said.

Mr. Muriana said the university must sell the land so it can use the additional revenue to help pay for the new campus, which expected to cost $2 billion to $3 billion to construct and will serve more than 10,000 students. "When the campus was designed in the 1960s, it was designed for about 3,500 students," he said. "We're now close to 8,000."

Completion of the project is years off — a scoping document released by the Department of City Planning last month put the project end-point at 2032 — though Mr. Muriana said the university would likely start construction shortly after the projected is approved. It must pass through the city's land-use review process, which includes approval from the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

Architects and city officials tout academic expansions as economic generators and magnets to draw youth and create neighborhood vitality.

"Universities are a vital part of the city's intellectual and economic fabric — and we have to recognize that they attract students and generate ideas," a former aide to Mayor Bloomberg who is a public policy professor at NYU, Mitchell Moss, said.

[elfgam]

"Residents of the neighboring buildings have been meeting for more than a year to discuss the proposal, and residents of a condominium building on the northeast corner of the superblock by 62nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the Alfred, have hired a lawyer to attempt to force the university to downsize the project."

A bit hypocritical, no?

I wish people would acknolwedge that sometimes a neighborhood's scale isn't always small... within three blocks of the campus is the AOL Time Warner Center, the new Stern Building on Broadway, the highrises around Lincoln Center (above the movie theater/barnes and noble), the high-rise community that Trump is building along the river, and a bunch of new highrises immediately north of John Jay and due west of the campus... if anything this is place where building up less than 40 stories would be out of context....

Why doesn't being contextual ever mean being big?

[SilentPandaesq]

A bit hypocritical, no?

What part of NY NIMBYism isn't? It is always about views and how those views translate into property value. "small scale" means "even though I am not on the water, it is my god-given right to see the water and price my co-op accordingly."

[sfenn1117]

This area is pretty much an extension of midtown. Fighting development is a favorite hobby of UWS residents. Not preserving nice buildings, like Bway/72nd or the townhouses on 78th, just fighting anything proposed.

[antinimby]

Nadler, Other Officials Oppose Fordham University's Expansion Plan


By ELIOT BROWN
Special to the Sun
September 10, 2007 (http://www.nysun.com/article/62256)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler and some other elected officials are opposing a plan by Fordham University to triple the size of its Lincoln Center campus.

The city planning department has scheduled an initial public meeting about the plan for today. In a letter sent to Fordham on Friday, obtained by The New York Sun, Mr. Nadler, Senator Thomas Duane, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal offered sharp criticism of the design of the plan, among other issues, writing that the proposal will "make a bad site plan worse."

While those officials do not have a vote in the approval process, their influence could push Fordham to scale back or alter its plans, which include selling land for the creation of two residential skyscrapers.

Like many other colleges and universities in the city, Fordham is feeling pressure to expand its space for academic programs and student housing.

Unlike New York University and Columbia University, which are both planning large expansions outside of their existing campuses, Fordham is seeking to stay within its existing campus footprint, a two block "superblock" bounded by Columbus and Amsterdam avenues and 60th and 62nd streets on Manhattan's West Side.

The bulk of the proposed expansion has drawn strong criticism from some surrounding residents, who warn the campus will be transformed into a fortress-like complex that is unwelcoming to both residents and passersby.

The elected officials are pushing Fordham to redistribute some of the bulk inward, making the towers on the exterior less tall and imposing. The letter takes particular issue with the two 600-foot residential towers planned for the Amsterdam side of the site, which face a public housing project.

"Future modifications of the plan must reduce the height of the Amsterdam Avenue towers," the officials wrote.

Fordham, which plans to add more than 2 million square feet of building space to the area over the next 25 years, said in response to the letter that it will continue to work with the elected officials in the area to create a workable plan. "We are confident that we will develop a plan that satisfies the needs of the University and the community," a university spokesman, Robert Howe, said in a statement.

The plan must be approved by both the City Council and the City Planning Commission, and Fordham has said it intends to start construction shortly thereafter. Today's public meeting on the project is scheduled for the Department of City Planning's offices at 22 Reade Street in Manhattan, from 2 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. with a break between 5 and 6 p.m.

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