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February 6, 2002
Northwestern
to Develop New Building Sites
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern
University plans to develop approximately four acres of land for
future building sites on its Evanston campus, University officials
announced today.
The land will be created
by filling in a portion of a 19-acre cooling water lagoon located
on campus near the University’s central utility plant. The
area to be filled, approximately four acres, is on the west side
of the lagoon.
"The additional
land will provide space for construction of at least four new buildings
at some time in the future," said Eugene S. Sunshine, senior
vice president for business and finance. "The University is
extremely constrained for space, and while we do not have any specific
buildings planned for the site, it gives us vitally important flexibility
in the future."
Sunshine said the land
eventually would likely be used for academic buildings, such as
classroom and/or research facilities. Until buildings are constructed,
the area will be used for landscaped parking and open space.
The new parking area,
which will occupy about half of the new land, will provide more
than 200 parking spaces. Some of those will replace a portion of
the parking spaces lost due to the construction of new buildings
on north campus.
In addition, the University
has developed preliminary plans for the creation of a pedestrian
mall that will run from the University Library north to Hogan Hall.
The mall will replace the existing Campus Drive and will have sidewalks
flanking a large lawn area, accented by landscaping, benches and
new lighting. Service vehicle access to the Allen Center and the
library will be through the new parking lot.
The University is seeking
funds for the construction of the mall.
"We’re attempting
to maximize the efficient use of the University’s land while
providing a more attractive link between the north and south campuses,"
Sunshine said.
Compared to similar
institutions, Northwestern has a very small campus. The Evanston
campus, including the land where Ryan Field and other athletic facilities
are located, totals approximately 240 acres. Of that, 84 acres were
created in the 1960s when the University filled in a portion of
Lake Michigan.
By comparison, Duke
University, located in Durham, N.C., which has slightly fewer students,
has nearly 1,700 acres on its main campus and owns another 7,700
acres. Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, Cal., also of
similar size, owns more than 8,000 acres.
Northwestern at one
time owned nearly 600 acres in Evanston, but much of the land was
sold or donated to the community in the University’s early
days in order to help develop Evanston.
The construction of
the 84-acre lakefill in the1960s provided space for the University
to grow over the last four decades. However, a major building program
now under way that includes seven new buildings means that there
are very few buildable sites left on the Evanston campus, said Ronald
Nayler, associate vice president for facilities management.
Filling in the four
acres is expected to take until early 2003, but could be finished
earlier, Nayler said. Landscaping of the new area and construction
of the parking lot is slated to be begin immediately afterwards,
with completion expected in summer 2003.
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