NYU Plans Major Expansion

NEW YORK — Citing the need to better compete with Ivy League institutions and accommodate the future demand for more student housing, New York University officials unveiled a proposal that would create 6 million square feet of new facilities over the next 25 years.

Half of the additional space would be spread over three locations in Manhattan’s eastside health corridor, the Polytechnic Institute of NYU in downtown Brooklyn, and Governors Island. The remaining half would be at or near the school’s Washington Square core. 

Nearly 3.5 million square feet of the proposed new space under the university’s NYU 2031 plan would support academic needs, 1.5 million square feet would be for student housing, and 1 million square feet would provide faculty housing and student services. The university has already acquired approximately 1 million square feet of site space. 

NYU has about 160 academic square feet per student, and the increase would boost that number to 240 academic square feet. Comparatively, Columbia has 326 academic square feet per student, Harvard 673 square feet, and Yale 866 square feet. 

“Having been extremely economical with space — NYU has approximately half the square footage per student of Columbia and one-quarter of Harvard’s — the university has reached a tipping point,” says John Sexton, president of NYU, in a letter addressed to New Yorkers. “Space is required to create a vibrant intellectual community in all senses of the phrase, with teachers and learners in proximity to each other, ready and willing to engage with other thinkers and doers throughout the city.”

Growth in and around NYU’s core will rely heavily on adaptive reuse, below-ground structures, and building orientation and massing to maximize open space while improving access to sunlight and ventilation.
 

In addition, NYU will focus on its existing properties, and will not seek any additional square footage beyond that already allowed by zoning. 

With the goal of LEED Silver certification or a comparable rating for all construction, the plan calls for green roofs, solar power, storm-water retention, heat recovery, and sustainable landscaping.

The Community Task Force on NYU Development is guiding the development strategy with public input. Members of the task force, including local elected officials, community board leaders and community and civic groups, have reached out to the public through open houses and meetings. 

To date, the involvement of the task force has resulted in the decision to develop half the space outside Greenwich Village, and a commitment to provide space within a new building for a Greenwich Village elementary school. 

The need for growth at NYU is largely the result of a 24.5 percent increase in the student body between 1990 and 2005, Over the next 20-plus years, NYU 2031 calls for a significantly slower rate of student growth. 

NYU is currently undertaking several construction jobs, including a replacement and expansion of its cogeneration plant, scheduled to open this spring. The new plant will provide hot water to 40 NYU buildings and electricity to another 18 to 20 buildings. 

Just the Facts

• NYU spent $1.9 billion on more than 1,600 capital projects between 2000 and 2009. 

• NYU pays $7 million in real estate taxes annually. 

• Total space at NYU: Over five million square feet of interior space

• Total enrollment: 19,400 undergraduate and 18,990 graduate students.