Stevens Institute of Technology remains convinced that a proposed two-building academic complex at Sixth and Hudson streets can and will become the crown jewel of its ambitious plan to grow, modernize, and diversify its campus on Castle Point. However, university representatives this week officially requested a delay of the complex’s hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, originally scheduled for Oct. 28, until January 2015, in order to fully answer the concerns of neighbors living in the toney townhouses of Hudson Street.
As a result of this ongoing community outreach process, the buildings’ height, square footage, and exterior design are all in flux, according to Beth McGrath, the chief of staff to Stevens President Nariman Farvardin.
When the complex was first presented in May, it included two five-story buildings on the north and south sides of Sixth Street where it meets Hudson Street, connected with a two-story skybridge. In its preliminary concept, the buildings would offer 94,100 square feet space, including 11 smart classrooms, six laboratories, and 50 offices in total.
Community outreach
Stevens presented its plans for the Academic Gateway Complex to the public at a series of open house discussions this past May. Shortly after the meetings, a group of neighboring residents concerned with the exterior design of the building created the Hudson Street Alliance to formalize their efforts to oppose the complex as initially proposed.
An online petition posted by the alliance currently has 101 signatures. It warns that the complex as presented in May will “strip away the residential qualities of the neighborhood, increase traffic and street noise, reduce available parking and set a precedent for future non-compliant building along the perimeter of campus.”
“We have 55 acres, and we can’t create more land.” – Ed Stukane
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“Within any reason, we will extend the courtesy to the neighbors to take into consideration their concerns,” said Stevens Provost George Korfiatis in an interview on Tuesday, “and what we’ll try to do is strike a balance between their concerns and our needs.”
A key sticking point is the buildings’ height. The original proposal called for 93-foot buildings, 53 feet higher than the maximum height dictated by the area’s zoning.
The Hudson Street Alliance petition calls on Stevens to “comply with existing zoning ordinances” governing the Gateway site.
Residents have also questioned how Stevens will account for the 36 student vehicles that currently park in a lot where the north building would be sited, not to mention the additional students and faculty that may be brought to campus by the complex.
Robert Maffia, Stevens’ vice president for facilities and campus operations, said Stevens has already hired a parking consultant to analyze how many off-street spots are needed to accommodate the Academic Gateway. He said the necessary parking will be more than accommodated by the 249 new spaces created by the Babbio Center Parking Garage, which is currently under construction but is expected to be completed in parallel with the Academic Gateway.
Until then, said Maffia, Stevens is in discussion to lease spaces in one of the municipal garages on River Street.
Korfiatis emphasized the public amenities the Gateway project will offer, including a large lobby entrance to the north building that doubles as an amphitheater space for meetings.
Stevens’ 400-seat DeBaun Auditorium already hosts events like Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s State of the City address and U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s Small Biz Tech forum, and the new vestibule will provide another venue for such events, albeit a smaller one.
Other public benefits mentioned by Stevens representatives include 100 new jobs created during construction and a greener city due to its plans to make the Gateway LEED Gold certified.
Master plan
Though the talks with the Hudson Street Alliance may produce significant changes to the Academic Gateway’s design, it would be hard to imagine Stevens giving up its plans for the building entirely. Many of the goals embodied in Stevens’ 10-year strategic plan are directly advanced by the Gateway complex, and $10 million from alumnus Greg Gianforte, the largest single gift the university has ever received, is already earmarked for the project.
New classroom space is needed because Stevens plans to grow its undergraduate student body from 2,691 at present to around 4,000 by 2022—its entering freshman class this fall was the largest ever at 799. Already the school has begun renovating three or four outdated classrooms every summer and winter break to prepare for this growth, according to Korfiatis.
“It’s expensive and painful to build new buildings,” said McGrath, “so we’re doing everything we can to make best use of and reclaim existing space for our academic needs.”
Stevens also hopes to expand its graduate school population to around 4,000 from 3,412 at present.
The research laboratory space created by the complex will be crucial to Stevens’ goal of hosting six designated national research centers by 2022. Just this fall, Stevens brought thirty new faculty members on board.
The Academic Gateway would be home to specialized labs for healthcare innovation, smart energy systems, product development and prototyping, and digital learning.
Space crunch
Stevens emphasizes that there is no other place on campus to build a structure like the Academic Gateway while maintaining its attractive, sylvan character.
“We have 55 acres, and we can’t create more land,” said Ed Stukane, Stevens’ vice president for communications and marketing.
According to a benchmarking study conducted by Rickes Associates, Stevens has only 129 square feet of assignable space per full-time equivalent student. Peer institutions like Lehigh, Rennselaer Polytechnic, and Carnegie Mellon enjoy 220 or more square feet per student.
“As the benchmarking study that we commissioned shows,” said Maffia, “Stevens is currently at about half of the space across all categories – academic, research, library, etc. – of our peers. Students come to universities to study and live in world-class facilities, and we need to upgrade our infrastructure if we are to compete with the best universities in the nation.”
In order to make way for the Academic Gateway, Stevens will demolish the Lieb Building, the current home of its Computer Science department. The structure was built by the Navy as temporary barracks in 1918 when it sent sailors to study at Stevens, then was given to the university when the program was cancelled the following year. According to Maffia, it has no elevators or handicap access and is slowly falling apart. “It’s actually garbage,” he said.
Zoning variances needed
Stevens is required to go to the zoning board because the height, depth, lot coverage, façade and off-street parking offered by its Gateway complex as initially proposed diverge from what is allowed by the residential-minded zoning of Castle Point.
In addition, only the southern portion of the Gateway’s proposed footprint is currently zoned for educational use, so Stevens will also be seeking a use variance in order to replace the parking lot that now lies in the northern portion.
Maffia noted that several nearby buildings on Hudson Street, including the Union Club Condominiums directly across the street, already stand taller than the 40-foot height dictated by the area’s R-1 residential zoning.