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West 130th Street would provide access to a one-acre public square that would add open space and provide an outdoor setting for University and community use.

Rendering: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Architects/Skidmore, Owing & Merrill, Urban Designers. Not indicative of final architecture and for illustrative purposes only.

Columbia’s proposed Manhattanville expansion has moved two giant steps closer to reality after receiving key approvals from the City Planning Commission on November 26 and the New York City Council on December 19.

The Planning Commission voted to approve with modifications the proposed rezoning of the manufacturing zone in West Harlem for academic mixed-use. The commission’s changes to Columbia’s proposed plan for the 17-acre site include modifying the use and reducing the scale of two of the proposed buildings and widening the walkway leading to the proposed open space between 130th and 131st Streets.

The New York Daily News, in an editorial, called the approval “a win for the school, the neighborhood and the city,” noting that the plan will produce 1,200 construction jobs and 7,000 permanent jobs. “Columbia would transform 17 acres of a defunct manufacturing zone into a $6 billion center of learning and research,” the editorial noted.

The City Council agreed. Acting a month earlier than expected, the council voted 35 to 5 with six abstentions and five absences to approve the rezoning proposal, removing the last major hurdle to the University’s expansion plans, although numerous significant details remain to be settled.

In a statement following the City Council approval, President Lee C. Bollinger declared, “After five years and innumerable discussions, negotiations, plans, documents, hearings and votes, we have arrived at a significant turning point on the matter of space for the University to grow together with our communities.”

Columbia has committed to building nearly 1,000 housing units to accommodate the projected demand from University employees in the area surrounding the project site, as well as to guarantee that the residents who live in approximately 130 apartments in the proposed expansion zone will have high-quality, alternative affordable housing in the community. In addition, the University recently reached an agreement with Borough President Scott Stringer to provide $20 million in seed capital to an affordable housing revolving loan fund to create and preserve an estimated 1,100 affordable housing units within Community Board 9.

Columbia also has made a number of commitments to environmental standards for future construction and the sustainability of new buildings in Manhattanville. The University has committed to meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver standard in new University office, classroom and residential buildings, and the design plan for Manhattanville was selected earlier this year for a new “smart growth” pilot program sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. Overall, Columbia, along with eight other NYC universities, joined as Challenge Partners in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 in a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2017.

For more about Columbia’s Manhattanville expansion, visit the planning Web site: www.campusplan.columbia.edu.

AROUND THE QUADS

City Council, Planning Commission Approve Rezoning of Manhattanville Site