New York City Universities Expand

The Washington Square Park arch, a symbol of NYU, on July 4. Recently, the city approved expansion plans for Columbia and Fordham campuses, and NYU’s 2031 development plan. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

“New York City has more undergraduate and graduate students than Boston has people,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in April on the NPR show Talk of the Nation. Indeed, the sheer size of the higher-education industry in New York gives universities a lot of clout.

NYC colleges and universities have become powerful magnets for talent and an excellent generator of new jobs.

Recently, the city approved expansion plans for Columbia and Fordham campuses and the planned tech campus on Roosevelt Island by Cornell University. The latest approval is New York University’s 2031 development plan.

For the 20-year project, NYU will develop more than 1.9 million square feet, which will provide necessary space for classrooms and other educational facilities, a new athletic facility, study areas, performance and theater spaces, faculty office and research space, as well as student and faculty housing.

A view of the NYU campus on the southeast side of Washington Square Park at the Henry Kaufman Management Center building in Manhattan this past April. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

The project calls for open space enhancements, including making the Sasaki Garden accessible to the public, and early commitments to build public spaces on Bleecker Street and LaGuardia Place. Plans also include a commitment to convert 6,000 square feet of existing space in Washington Square Village to accommodate a community use.

The university’s expansion will add to this economic impact by creating an estimated 18,200 construction jobs, as well as 2,600 long-term employment opportunities.

NYU’s 2031 development plan is another example of enhancements made by universities to attract top-notch brainpower that, in turn, will benefit our great city.

The NYU plan allows for growth on its own property while maintaining the neighborhood character of Greenwich Village.

Mitchell Hall is a Corcoran Group broker and the blogger behind http://nycblogestate.com/

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