Rutgers BOG approves 2030 Physical Master Plan

[Korbermeister]

BOG approves RU 2030 Master Plan
http://news.rutgers.edu/news-releas...ty-physical-master-plan/20150616#.VYNHsXD3arW
http://masterplan.rutgers.edu/reports/rutgers-2030​

 

[RUseaweed]

Here's the full 336 page report: http://masterplan.rutgers.edu/reports/rutgers-2030-volume-1-new-brunswick

Highlights for me:
New power plants for Busch (that Livingston will share) and College Ave within the next 5 years. They mention "imminent" demolition of Records Hall, but it's in the Phase II section - so I don't know if it's imminent in 2020 or imminent now. The fact that the dinning part is part of Phase II would lead one to believe that it won't all be done for about 10 years.

One new Engineering building within the next 5 years, and 3 more in 10 years including a new layout for Gateway road.

A new Physics lecture hall (goodbye clamshell!)

Overall I'm pretty stoked about all of this. It is a very transparent process and they're laying out exactly what they want to do. Now whoever comes in behind Barchi can focus on being a fundraiser and following this game plan.

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV

 

[pele78]

Would like to see more thoughts here about the plan changes to the New Brunswick campus'

 

[derleider]

Wow. So much information in here.

The COok section is interesting. Create a denser student area with real dorms along Nichol Ave, then tear down the Newells and Starkeys and convert that to faculty/grad student housing. Basically integrating the undergraduate features of Cook and Douglas much more thoroughly than they have been (which makes alot of sense.) Then you have all of this extra land - so they basically make a new housing development (a similar thing shows up on Livingston - market rate apartments behind the ones they just built - as Ive said before - RU has TOO much land, not too little, and in the past that has caused it to use it poorly.)

Love the idea for an express bus network with bus only lanes in NB. Hopefully the city is behind that and can make it happen relatively quickly.

College Ave - obviously that quad with the demolition of all of those buildings is going to be a major undertaking that will transform the campus.

One that that all of the overheads and other shots makes so clear is just how low density Rutgers is. Most of this plan seems to be rectifying that.

One interesting thing on Busch is tat they tear down ALOT of the interior lots (see ya Purple, black, and Silver lots), but then they plan to tear down alot of the edge housing and replace it with parking lots.

Now frankly, Im not buying any plan that involves tearing down substantial buildings, but thats the plan.

 

[srru86]

Manhattan resident Al Doblin gets in his usual dig at athletics.
The Record: Rutgers' future
More important point is they get all kerfuffled about the overall size of the projects at 3 billion over 15 years. I'm sure Al is unaware that CT spent 3.5 billion over about the same number of years just on Storrs. All state money, not private donations. It can be done if a state is serious about remaining competitive in a knowledge based economy.

 

[derleider]

Manhattan resident Al Doblin gets in his usual dig at athletics.
The Record: Rutgers' future
More important point is they get all kerfuffled about the overall size of the projects at 3 billion over 15 years. I'm sure Al is unaware that CT spent 3.5 billion over about the same number of years just on Storrs. All state money, not private donations. It can be done if a state is serious about remaining competitive in a knowledge based economy.

I mean 3 billion isnt all that much considering they plan to completely remake the Busch campus, build essentially a whiole campus worth of buildings on Livingston including completely redoing the non-football sports infrastructure, consolidate Cook and Douglas, THEN add on a new housing village to them, and put in a major new project that will totally rework College Ave.

Its ambitious - but it has to do two things - the biggest is to make up for the mistakes of the past - building a spread out low slung campus rather than building dense and tall. The second is to make up for the lack of investment from the 1980s to now on most campuses except Busch (one can put the recent construction on Livingston and CA in this bucket as well. Those arent cheap.

 

[sct1111]

Wow. So much information in here.

The COok section is interesting. Create a denser student area with real dorms along Nichol Ave, then tear down the Newells and Starkeys and convert that to faculty/grad student housing. Basically integrating the undergraduate features of Cook and Douglas much more thoroughly than they have been (which makes alot of sense.) Then you have all of this extra land - so they basically make a new housing development (a similar thing shows up on Livingston - market rate apartments behind the ones they just built - as Ive said before - RU has TOO much land, not too little, and in the past that has caused it to use it poorly.)

Love the idea for an express bus network with bus only lanes in NB. Hopefully the city is behind that and can make it happen relatively quickly.

College Ave - obviously that quad with the demolition of all of those buildings is going to be a major undertaking that will transform the campus.

One that that all of the overheads and other shots makes so clear is just how low density Rutgers is. Most of this plan seems to be rectifying that.

One interesting thing on Busch is tat they tear down ALOT of the interior lots (see ya Purple, black, and Silver lots), but then they plan to tear down alot of the edge housing and replace it with parking lots.

Now frankly, Im not buying any plan that involves tearing down substantial buildings, but thats the plan.

I understand the desire to center the Cook campus around Dudley Rd. but I don't understand why they would tear down the Newells, Starkeys, Perry Hall and Vorhees Hall. Those two dorms are the newest and nicest dorms on Cook. The area around the Newells is very very nice. I lived there for two years. If anything, they need to tear down the other older dorms like Nicholas and Buntingcobb. I may be biased, but I think Cook is the campus that actually needs the least amount of work besides tearing down older buildings like Loree and Hickman. Cook is really a campus that should be more centered around nature rather than buildings.

 

[derleider]

I understand the desire to center the Cook campus around Dudley Rd. but I don't understand why they would tear down the Newells, Starkeys, Perry Hall and Vorhees Hall. Those two dorms are the newest and nicest dorms on Cook. The area around the Newells is very very nice. I lived there for two years. If anything, they need to tear down the other older dorms like Nicholas and Buntingcobb. I may be biased, but I think Cook is the campus that actually needs the least amount of work besides tearing down older buildings like Loree and Hickman. Cook is really a campus that should be more centered around nature rather than buildings.

I think with the Newells and Starkeys the issue is this - there are much nicer apartments on campus now, and increasingly off campus. So there is just less demand unless you are a cook person. And if they implmenet the express bus as planned, its quite possible that you would be able to get to classes on the far side of C/D just as fast from CA or even Busch as walking from the Starkeys and Newell Zealand.

If I had to guess - they will take down the Starkeys first. They were considered dumps 15 years ago.

I would bet on Perry and Vorhees both still standing in 2030.

but as I said above - this plan is largely a plan to reverse the poor decisions of the past. One of those bad decisions was to separate Cook and Douglass as they did. For example - the placement of ENR no longer really makes sense. I am actually surprised they didnt suggest tearing that down. If nothing else, it would make sense to move the animal science labs/offices there and move the ENR stuff to a new building closer to IMCS.

Bunting Cobb is actually the newest dorm on Cook/Douglass - you are thinking of Woodbury - Nicholas' twin - and I agree - RU would be much better tearing those two down and replacing them - they arent meaningfully farther away from the Douglass student center than Corwin is.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

I like the current Physics lecture hall. Why do they have to change it?

 

[roofusgooner]

It would a tremendous coup if they could get those BRT lanes in New Brunswick. It could make a huge impact on student life.

 

[sct1111]

I think with the Newells and Starkeys the issue is this - there are much nicer apartments on campus now, and increasingly off campus. So there is just less demand unless you are a cook person. And if they implmenet the express bus as planned, its quite possible that you would be able to get to classes on the far side of C/D just as fast from CA or even Busch as walking from the Starkeys and Newell Zealand.

If I had to guess - they will take down the Starkeys first. They were considered dumps 15 years ago.

I would bet on Perry and Vorhees both still standing in 2030.

but as I said above - this plan is largely a plan to reverse the poor decisions of the past. One of those bad decisions was to separate Cook and Douglass as they did. For example - the placement of ENR no longer really makes sense. I am actually surprised they didnt suggest tearing that down. If nothing else, it would make sense to move the animal science labs/offices there and move the ENR stuff to a new building closer to IMCS.

Bunting Cobb is actually the newest dorm on Cook/Douglass - you are thinking of Woodbury - Nicholas' twin - and I agree - RU would be much better tearing those two down and replacing them - they arent meaningfully farther away from the Douglass student center than Corwin is.

Woodbury and Bunting-Cobb are either the same building or are connected. I'm not sure as I've never been in either but I walked passed them almost every day to class to get to Loree freshman year. Both are clearly built before the 70s. Although I'm not sure if there was a newer addition to the dorm? Nicholas, Katzenbach, Lippencott are all pretty old buildings. They should be the residence halls that get replaced first. Perry is the newest residence hall on campus. I know so because I lived there as a freshman. I believe it was built either late 80s or early 90s. It's also the only dorm along with Vorhees with air conditioning on the campus.

I don't think the dramatic redesigning of Cook/Douglass is necessary besides the few additions and demolitions of old/crappy dorms.