June 29, 2000


Columbia University Planning Faculty Residence at 110th St to Include K-8 School Open to the Community

by Lauren Marshall

Planning is underway at Columbia University for the construction of a new 12-story faculty residence to be located on the southeast corner of 110th Street and Broadway. The building will be no taller that 140 feet and will include ground-floor retail and a Columbia-affiliated school for approximately 700 elementary students (K-8); 50 percent of the students will be the children of Columbia faculty and professional staff and 50 percent will come from the larger community.

The project is motivated by Columbia's need for affordable faculty housing in New York City. As Manhattan has become a more desirable place to live, faculty have become increasingly interested in housing closer to campus. This is not only an issue for retaining current faculty but also in recruiting new faculty, many of whom come to Columbia from other universities across the nation and the world.

The Columbia school is intended to provide a challenging, creative and nurturing educational experience for students from diverse economic, ethnic, racial, social and cultural backgrounds. It would combine new learning technologies with more traditional instructional and curricular approaches. The school would work synergistically with the university and its intellectual resources, and form partnerships with associated cultural organizations in New York City.

Columbia officials expect the K-8 school to be of benefit to the University community, the local community and New York City at large.

In preliminary planning, a charter public school was considered, but University officials felt that the most feasible way of serving the children of faculty was through an independent school rather than by a charter school, which would be legally mandated to accept students by lottery. Therefore, the K-8 school, to be housed in four floors of the building, will be modeled after the lab school at the University of Chicago, which has proven successful in helping that university attract and retain faculty.

Construction on the building would begin in approximately one year and is estimated to be completed 18 months after groundbreaking.

In early planning for the building, the University originally hoped to maximize the available space by seeking up-zoning from the City Planning Commission which would have allowed the University to construct a building of up to 20 stories. However, after consultation with local officials and community members, University officials have decided not to seek up-zoning and to build a 12-story building that would be a contextual fit within the surrounding community.

As the building architects, Columbia has selected the award-winning architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, renowned for developing buildings that unite the old with the new, bridging classic historic preservation with creative contemporary design and have a long-standing relationship with the University.

In the past few years, Columbia has become increasingly engaged in bringing contextually sensitive construction to the community, which has ushered in a new era of community involvement in the design of Columbia buildings.

"Even though the project is in its most preliminary stages, it is important that we reach out to those around us--elected officials, community board members, residents associations and concerned individuals--so they are well informed and involved as we pursue our goal of developing a building that is an asset to the community," said Emily Lloyd, executive vice president for administration at Columbia. Lloyd and other University officials have already begun the process of informing the community of the project. The discussions on the building's design will last throughout the design process.

The building at 110th Street and Broadway will replace two 2-story commercial buildings that currently house several businesses: D'Agostino's, Mike's Papaya, Best Fish Market, Metro French Cleaners and Karon's Check Cashing. Two existing 5-story historic tenement buildings on West 109th Street will be preserved and improved in coordination with the construction. The current residents will remain in those buildings.

The University is also committed to retaining or assisting in the relocation of current retail tenants between 109th and 110th, including D'Agostino's. "We carefully select our tenants in an effort to supply the services that the neighborhood needs. We want to help viable businesses stay in the community if at all possible," said Lloyd.

In response to recent community concern for food markets in Morningside Heights, Columbia has discussed D' Agostino's return to the site; should D'Agostino's choose not to return, Columbia will attempt to find another market to fill the street-level retail space.

The newly completed 14-story Broadway Residence Hall at 113th and Broadway was developed through this consultative process. In the course of conversations with the community, the facade of an adjacent historic fraternity house was preserved and incorporated into the building's design by architect Robert A. M. Stern and a lighter color of brick was selected to keep the building in context with other apartment buildings on Broadway. In addition, the building, when complete, will house a branch of the New York Public Library, a service requested by residents.

Columbia University is involved in many projects that benefit the community, including collaboration with New York City public schools. For a list of them click here .