With deadlines for proposals to build a tech campus in New York getting perilously close, Stanford went into more detail than ever before at a meeting of the university’s academic senate last night. Lisa M. Krieger from The Mercury News, who attended the meeting, calls the 500-page proposal “spectacular.”
The specifics disclosed both help to understand Stanford’s vision in terms of how it relates to the school’s Palo Alto campus and gives some idea of the hoops other applicants have to jump through.
Stanford anticipates three decades of construction at an estimated cost of $1 billion to $2 billion. “The project is so breathtaking in its scope that the application process alone could cost $1 million,” reports the paper. Indeed, other schools Betabeat has contacted have mentioned the cost of hiring design teams and architects to meet the RFP’s specifications. And that doesn’t include the PR firms and lobbyists (to do “consulting” work) that both Stanford and Cornell have put on retainer.
According to Stanford’s plans, by 2045, the campus, which as reported will be on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, could be home to up to 350 professors and more than 2,000 grad students in science, engineering, and entrepreneurship.
At the meeting, Stanford President John Hennessy stressed that the New York location would be more than just a satellite campus. Mr. Hennessy said he saw it as a “one university, two campus” model linked together by technology. That would free up Stanford’s Palo Alto campus for undergrads and keep its tree-lined vistas.
The design hasn’t been made public yet, but the Mercury News says it calls for up to 1.9 million sq. ft. of construction, with buildings that extend from six to 41 floors. If Stanford is selected, hiring might start next year and admission for grad students by 2013. Initial classes during the construction period would be held at renovated facilities at City College of New York. Stanford announced a partnership with the local institution for the first time this week.
If anyone else feels like leaking their plans to the press, you know who to call.
