Rendering of possible NYU facility on Governors Island

New York University has plans to grow its physical size by 40%, according to the NY Times, which says they include "a new tower on Bleecker Street... three million square feet of new classrooms, dormitories and offices in the Greenwich Village area... a new engineering school in Brooklyn and a satellite campus on Governors Island, complete with dorms and faculty housing." Ultimately, NYU wants to add another 6 million square feet, which will cost about $1,000/square foot, by 2031.

Of course, NYU has had many battles with neighbors over its continued development, especially in Greenwich Village. NYU President John Sexton told the Times they are trying to engage the public more this time around, "It’s clear that N.Y.U. had a history of moving forward without listening. What this process has allowed us to do is take advantage of the wisdom that’s out there. There are some people just trying to make reputations attacking N.Y.U. But there’s a lot of wisdom in the community."

Cut to Andrew Berman, of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who says, "We're deeply concerned. N.Y.U. seems to have worked on their P.R. machine quite a bit, but the reality of what they’re doing — which is taking over more and more of the neighborhood — doesn’t seem like it’s changed very much. They’ve given everybody the opportunity to say what they think and then they’ve largely ignored that feedback."

The GVSHP reminds everyone that NYU will present its latest plans to the public next month, April 14. (Back in 2008, NYU presented ideas for its expansion—PDF). The Times also has some interesting stats: "Between 1991 and 2001, the number of students living in N.Y.U. housing tripled to 12,000, from 4,000, as the university raised its national profile. (In the early ’90s, 50 percent of its students came from the metropolitan area; now that figure has declined to 10 to 15 percent.) By 2031, N.Y.U. expects its total student body to grow to 46,500 students, up from the current 41,000. By 2031, the university aims to have 240 academic square feet per student; it now has 160, according to its own study, compared to Columbia University’s 326, Harvard’s 673 and Yale’s 866."