NEW YORK (February 23, 2005)— To accommodate the needs of a growing student population and alleviate overcrowded facilities, Fordham University announces a multi-year, $1 billion proposed master plan to add 1.5 million square feet of academic, student activities and dormitory space at its Manhattan campus adjacent to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. This plan, as it is proposed, is pending approval from the City.
“Fordham’s location in the cultural heart of New York City allows us to draw on a remarkable set of resources to provide academic and educational programs that serve the needs of our students and our neighbors in this great city,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “It is critical that educational institutions continue to evolve and grow. This development permits Fordham to compete on the very highest level, offering the highest caliber education to the students we attract in New York, nationally and worldwide.”
Fordham’s seven-acre Lincoln Center campus was originally built to accommodate approximately 3,500 students, however, today more than 8,000 students are enrolled. To accommodate an overflowing campus community, Fordham now rents 90,000 square feet of off-campus space. Enrollment at the Lincoln Center campus is expected to grow to more than 10,600 in the foreseeable future.
Fordham has spent eight years developing its Lincoln Center campus master plan, taking into consideration several factors, such as current and future programming needs, maintenance of the open space it now shares with the surrounding community, and the construction of buildings that engage pedestrian traffic.
The development of the Lincoln Center campus will begin with the expansion of Quinn Library and the construction of a new Law School building, a new student center, a dormitory and additional parking.
“One of the most important and symbolic elements of the plan is the elevation of the University’s library from its current underground location to the central and visible focus of the Lincoln Center campus,” said Brian J. Byrne, Ph.D., vice president for administration, who noted that the campus will maintain nearly two acres of green space at its center for the enjoyment of students and area residents.
The project will be funded in part through the sale of two land parcels for private residential development. These parcels, totaling 14,000 square feet with development rights, are located on 60th and 62nd streets and Amsterdam Avenue.
Future phases of the development plan include the construction of new space for the Schools of Business, the Graduate School of Social Service, the Graduate School of Education, Fordham College at Lincoln Center and additional dormitory space.
In 1996, Fordham retained Cooper Robertson & Partners to develop a master plan for the Lincoln Center campus that meets the University’s current use needs and its anticipated growth and engages the surrounding community.
This is the first major building project at the Lincoln Center campus since 1993, when construction was completed on McMahon Hall, the 20-story apartment-style dormitory on 60th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues.
