CB9 and Columbia on Manhattanville

This news is a bit old, but last week I attended the New York APA's event on Manhattanville, where Columbia and CB9 both had a chance to update the planning community on the status of the project. I think that majority of the design proposals that have been circulated have not changed significantly since Columbia made its intentions known.

Some elements of note are: Columbia is seeking a change in zoning for 35 acres in this community, though it is directly developing 17 acres; both Columbia Business School and the liberal arts school will be up there; there's going to be a magnet math, science and engineering high school managed by the Board of Ed, which will start accepting students this coming Fall despite the lack of a physical building; a community benefits agreement is in the works; and eminent domain is still in consideration.

As far as status in the City approval process, it still seemed a bit unclear. Is the Environmental Impact Statement pending? And there was a mention of carbon neutral development on the part of CB9. Though the idea may be well known within the advocacy community, and has definitely reached the decision-makers of private development, this was the first time I've heard about the issue within a specific community development context. Are other community's advocating for this with their respective projects?

Also, maybe this is petty, but this is the glossy vision that Columbia is selling:




And this is the place where people debated it last week.




I hope Columbia is hosting some of the discussion in settings that reflect the importance of the issue, as part of its outreach.

Columbia's Manhattanville proposal
Pratt Center's CB 9 initiative