Rezoning May Ease Columbia Expansion

As the Bloomberg administration and City Council mull Columbia University's proposed 17-acre expansion, the city is now seeking to rezone the surrounding West Harlem area, a move that could ease the concerns of many opposing the campus extension.

The decision by the city was announced in a letter yesterday from commissioner of the Department of City Planning, Amanda Burden, to the president of Manhattan, Scott Stringer, who has been pushing new development and height restrictions. As Columbia's intended new development would transform an area that consists mainly of warehouses and industrial buildings, the planned expansion has already helped to raise land values in the area around the campus footprint, community leaders say. Higher prices have drawn concerns from elected officials about new, out-of-context development."We share your central goal of creating a long-term plan for the growth of West Harlem in a manner consistent with its special character," Ms. Burden wrote in her letter. While she did not give many specifics of what the initiative would entail, her department has traditionally added new height restrictions on side streets while allowing for more density on commercial corridors near public transit. The rezoning, which would not affect Columbia's expansion proposal, could enter the public review process as early as June, Ms. Burden wrote.

Mr. Stringer, who is slated to issue his official recommendation about the Columbia expansion today, praised the decision. "To close our eyes and think the Columbia expansion is just in the Columbia footprint is being naïve," Mr. Stringer said of the development likely to be spurred. "I think the mere mention of the Columbia expansion has already inflated the land values."

Columbia has been facing opposition from the community about its expansion plan, as the Community Board last month recommended against its approval. With the City Planning Commission scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject next week, the university has yet to reach any agreement with the two major remaining private landholders in the campus footprint. The largest landowner, Nicholas Sprayregen, has put forward a proposal to swap land with Columbia and build hundreds of units of housing across the street, though he has yet to talk with the university about the plan.