Though there may not be much green to go around right now due to the economy, University officials said the recent financial downturn will have no effect on the greening project designated for the College Avenue campus.
The ability to not have to cut back on the current construction plan lies in the fact that the University was conservative in planning the project from the start, said Antonio Calcado, vice president of Facilities and Capital Planning.
“[The greening project] hasn’t undergone any changes because if you think about it, this is a project that was scaled back significantly to begin with,” Calcado said. “Even before the world got into these [current] financial issues, about three years ago we scaled this project back from what could have been hundreds of millions to about $17 million.”
Some preliminary phases of the plan were started before students returned to campus in the fall.
The University took care of placing all conduits and infrastructure under College Avenue during that time, Calcado said.
As the year goes on, students should be able to see the changes going on around campus.
“As far as status is concerned, the actual construction drawings are going to be finished up,” he said. “We’re going to go present them to the city council and the planning board. [The University] is going to do what is necessary by getting the necessary permits.”
Calcado said the University was planning to work around a myriad of different factors, ranging from transportation to student orientations, so the closing of sections of the street would not be a major inconvenience.
The University has worked hard to put together a comprehensive system of temporary bus routes in anticipation of street closures for the construction, said Jack Molenaar, Director of the Department of Transportation Services.
The plan includes the alteration of existing bus routes, as well as the construction of temporary bus stops to help facilitate student transportation across the College Avenue campus.
Though transportation will not be a major problem during the summer sessions, the major concern is when students return for the fall semester this year, Molenaar said.
“We’ve already done the planning and where we need the temporary bus stops and changes in the routes,” he said.
The current plans call for the creation of new, temporary stops on George Street across from the Student Activities Center, as well as one on Bishop Place. The EE bus will no longer go on Route 18 and the F bus will be using new sections of Route 18 North, which are expected to be open by the fall, Molenaar said.
“These routes … are only temporary for the next couple of years,” he said. “After the construction is finished, we can take a look at the routes and see if we want to make any permanent changes.”
The first piece of construction will be literally tearing up the street, rerouting traffic and starting to green it while being careful not to make a mess of the campus, Calcado said.
“We’re going to be making sure the project will be phased through,” he said. “We’ll work with everybody — this is not a project that needs to be completed by a certain deadline. It has elasticity.”
The greening, a key component of University President Richard L. McCormick’s plan to revitalize the College Avenue campus, was set into motion in 2005. The selected designers, Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos and Ignacio Bunster-Ossa of Wallace, Roberts & Todd were announced one year later.
The project comes at a vital time for the University.
The University was ranked as having the 16th least beautiful campus in the nation, according to a survey conducted last fall by the Princeton Review.
Rutgers College junior Samuel Park said the University taking initiative in the greening project is a step in the right direction.
“I think it’s a good thing that they’re obviously trying to fix the campus,” Park said. “The overall look of it and the wear and tear has been an issue.”
Though not entirely sure on the appropriate costs for the greening, Park said the University spending money on its aesthetics was preferable to other projects currently underway.
“It’s certainly better than spending [$100 million] on the football stadium,” Park said. “If you had to ask me to choose between that and spending money on making the campus better, I would definitely say the campus.”
The project received a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for $150,000, which will go toward the final costs and will be paid off pending the completion of the product.
“The $17 million has been earmarked by the University for the project,” Calcado said. “We never pay for anything in advance.”
College Avenue greening ready to move forward
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2009
Updated: Thursday, February 12, 2009
 "Photo: Mike Shannahan / Staff Photographer")
Mike Shannahan / Staff Photographer
As a part of University President Richard L. McCormick’s green initiative to make for a more aesthetically pleasing campus, the College Avenue campus will undergo significant change in the coming months with a $17 million budget.
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