Changes to height and bulk of buildings along Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues among modifications. The City Council modified Fordham University’s long-term master plan to expand its Lincoln Center Campus in Manhattan. Located on a superblock bounded by Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues and West 60th and 62nd Streets, the existing campus consists of three buildings, with a total floor area of 731,075 sq.ft., that are connected by a one-story, elevated structure known as the “podium,” providing internal circulation between the buildings. Fordham’s original proposal included constructing seven new buildings arranged primarily around the perimeter of the campus, and selling or leasing land to develop two private residential buildings. The original proposal would have resulted in 3,020,480 sq.ft. of total floor area.

At the City Planning Commission’s March 4th hearing, opponents of the plan focused criticism on the plan’s overall density, claiming that the “fortress-like” campus would be excessive in the already dense Lincoln Square neighborhood. The Commission made several modifications, including reducing the project’s overall floor area by 144,000 sq.ft., and reducing the maximum height of the building envelopes for several of the proposed towers along the perimeter of the superblock. (read more…)