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Rockefeller U Expands Over FDR Drive

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The Rockefeller University Campus Master Plan and New Laboratory Building

Rockefeller University is located between East 62nd Street and East 68th right up against FDR Drive. The administration wished to expand the amount of space the school had, but, just like pretty much all real estate in Manhattan, it faced the pressing issue of lack of space. With no available space on any edge of the property, the university administration came up with a clever idea: Build an expansion over the FDR Drive and to a new buildings on the other side. The executive vice president of Rockefeller Timothy O’Connor, stated, “This is the only way that the acreage of the university was going to expand. It was the most creative approach.”

Titled The Stavros-Niarchos Foundation – David Rockefeller River Campus Initiative, the project is estimated to cost a total of The $500 million. It will extend over the busy FDR Drive highway to a new two-story building as well as add two new acres to the school campus, which is currently 14 acres. There will also be repairs made to the sea wall that runs along the East River next to the school and improvements made to the public walkway there.

The construction of such a project is “utterly anti-New York” according to Mr. O’Connor, because it will be extending horizontally, not vertically, which is the traditional way to build. It’s hoped that the horizontal manner of the building will spur more collaboration among the schools laboratories
and faculty members.

The President of Rockefeller University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne said “The brilliance of the concept is to build a horizontal structure, because scientists want to be able to communicate just by walking down the corridor and running into each other. In New York, we’re often constrained to build tall towers. This project renews our lab stock but also will enable us to take our science to the next level.”

The issue of air rights comes into play, as the school will be extending into open air above the FDR Drive. The school has owned its own air rights since 1973, however. It is thought that this manner of building will be “a new frontier in the world of development and construction” according to Curt Zegler, a project executive for Turner Construction who is working on the expansion. As Mr. Zegler put it, the increasing demand for real estate and property is creating a severe lack of land in New York City, so air rights are looking to be taken advantage of by developers.

“How do you create a significant expansion in a place like Manhattan?” said Rafael Viñoly of Rafael Vinoly Architects, the firm creating the project. “It’s a clever way of dealing with the question of having a very limited footprint on the island.”

Traffic on the FDR Drive will be affected by the project, unfortunately. The highway will be closed from 12:30 am to 4:30 a.m., starting in September until at least 2019, in both directions, between 61st and 96th Streets. Pedestrians will not be allowed on the The East River Esplanade between 63rd and 71st Streets. Alternate routes are offered on the The Transportation Department website.

Anat Ghelber

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