Cornell's North Campus Residential Initiative has moved a step closer to reality with acceptance of the adequacy of a draft environmental impact statement (dEIS) examining the project's potential impact on drainage, plant and animal life, sight lines, traffic and parking, rental housing and cultural and historic resources.
The statement, prepared by the Ithaca-based firm of Trowbridge & Wolf, was accepted for adequacy by the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board April 27. The planning board action does not signify agreement or disagreement with the designs and conclusions in the statement, but rather that the document contains enough information for the public to comment on issues identified in the final scope established by the city. The board, lead agency in the environmental quality review process, will now conduct a public review and comment period.
The North Campus project, announced in October 1997 by President Hunter Rawlings, will fundamentally change the Cornell experience for all freshmen. Housing, dining and recreational facilities will be added to the North Campus residential area so that all freshmen can reside there by the start of the 2001-02 academic year.
"It is especially important to introduce first-year students to Cornell's intellectual and cultural scope," Rawlings said when he outlined the plan. "The freshman residential experience is critical to new students' introduction to Cornell's academic community and to their learning to live independently and with other students from different backgrounds."
Planning for the North Campus project has been an inclusive process involving teams of students, faculty and staff who focused on such issues as programs, new and renovated housing, furnishings and computer support, activity rooms, lounges, quiet space, additional dining options and recreation facilities. Their recommendations are reviewed by an executive group chaired by Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services. The process has also included visits to other campuses, larger campus outreach and input via web updates and meetings and, of course, advice from planners and architects.
Plans call for two new residence halls across from Balch and Donlon on what are now the Helen Newman Fields. Three playing fields will be relocated on the site of the old Pleasant Grove apartments, and a new "community commons" will be built just east of Helen Newman Hall, with recreational and program space, a student mail center and a new marketplace approach to campus dining. In addition, Robert Purcell Community Center is undergoing complete renovation, other North Campus residence halls will be modernized, and an outdated and underutilized dining facility in Balch will close.
If approved as presented, the project would:
University officials have indicated that Cornell would help finance moving the Moore House, which is named for its last private owner, Dr. Norman Moore, the former head of Gannett Health Services, who sold it to Cornell. The house is of historic interest because of its architecture. Under one proposal, the house would be donated to historic preservationists for restoration and resale and moved to a site where it would remain a single-family dwelling.
The planning board has set a public hearing on the project Tuesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. in Ithaca City Hall. The city planning department, 108 East Green St., will accept written comments regarding the project anytime up to May 28.
Copies of the dEIS are available off campus at city hall, Ithaca Town Hall, the Tompkins County Public Library and on campus at Olin Library.
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