<p>It appears that Yale's recent land grab might be for new residential colleges, hinted in this article. The land was in exchange for Yale's commitment to expand a park, a greenway and street infrastructure. According to other YDN articles, there is already 400 million dollars worth of construction going on at Yale between residential college renovations, new Art building, new Art museum, Cross Campus etc... this would be yet another big undertaking. </p>
<p>Yes, I think so too, though not necessarily on that particular site. The $400M in construction is just the amount this year. $400M each year for the next 10 years = $4,000,000,000 in new construction. Two new residential colleges would represent less than 10% of that.</p>
<p>what are you talking about, 10 years? I've never seen an outline for a budget stating that Yale is going to spend that much money on construction. This year is particularly expensive due to the confluence of multiple projects.</p>
<p>in my humble opinion as a non-yalie but a longtime admirer of the campus, the best place for a new residential college would be the block across cross-campus from sterling library, the one bounded by college, wall, temple, and elm streets. all the buildings in that block seem pretty expendable. a new college there would extend the cross-campus vista and offer a stronger endpoint, as well as improve connections between the cross-campus colleges and silliman/TD.</p>
<p>Actually, the trend is that the amount of construction at Yale increases dramatically every year. A few years ago the amount of construction was only $150-200M per year. A few years before than it was $100M. Given that fact, it would be surprising if it were only $4B over 10 years. Of course, a small part of the increase in construction cost per year is due to the rising price of materials. </p>
<p>Given Yale's upcoming plans to construct a massive new home for the School of Management and a monstrously large new biology research building on Whitney Avenue, spend $600 million just on new arts facilities, plus reconstruct the site you mentioned (perhaps with new residential colleges) as well as a few other large sites, even before you consider the medical campus plans, I don't think construction will be slowing anytime soon. Also, it's not like Yale doesn't have the money.</p>
<p>I agree w/ f.scottie in terms of the best site for new colleges.</p>
<p>I also like Princeton's plans for its arts district, near Forbes "College."</p>
<p>look, that massive new biology center hasn't been even approved yet by the zoning commission and a residential college is at least 5 years away. The cancer center will no doubt cost a few hundred million but other than that, I don't see 4 billion dollars worth of new building at Yale. The Yale Bowl got a nice Facelift though!!! Now if only the FOOTBALL TEAM could get a new coach. I was pulling for Dick Jaroun in the off season, but the Bills snatched him. There was a letterwriting campaign. </p>
<p>as for the block across cross campus, that's going to be a tough one. There is a large space on the southern half of the block and designs have already been planned for that area for a new residential college. However the Elizabethan Club is entrenched on the north side of the block, and good luck getting them out of there. I agree it would be a nice complement and link up Calhoun/Berkeley to Silliman/TD quite nicely. However, I KNOW they are planning two colleges. I don't know if its a major priority yet but as the residential college renovations wind down in three years, I bet you there will be new plans announced.</p>
<p>well, they could keep the lizzie and work around it, the same way james gamble rogers did with some of the society tombs. and they could still probably squeeze two colleges into that block, if they're of TD and not silliman size. by the way, do you have any more info on the "designs have already been planned for" the southern half? i'd be interested in reading more about them, if so.</p>
<p>I wouldn't be surprised if the colleges were announced sooner than that. The Elizabethan Club, a tiny private institution with tremendous wealth, would not be in the way if Yale wanted to use the other half of that block. There is no way the Elizabethan Club is ever moving. There is just one other building sitting there now, which is an insignificant faculty office building and could be easily demolished. </p>
<p>As far as the other buildings, the molecular biology center is basically approved, it just needs to be redesigned slightly in order to pass zoning muster. There are still several enormous buildings that are scheduled for renovation. And that's before you even consider the new projects that will be announced. Five or so years ago, many of the projects currently in construction or recently completed hadn't even been considered yet.</p>
<p>those plans are located in the deans office. the only reason I was able to see them was because I was a Dean's advisor my senior year in college. At the time, the colleges were put on hold to allow for a complete renovation cycle for the other colleges. Now that the cycle is nearing an end, I assume, and by the ydn article assured, that the time is near for new colleges to be built, including the one on the parking lot/Religious studies/south side of the block between temple and college - and I guess one in the Dixwell neighborhood. </p>
<p>fscottie - are you wearing blue today? you are using some yale lingo pretty smoothly.</p>
<p>i see. may i ask then, were the plans just sort of preliminary site plans, or were they full-blown architectural plans? if the latter, can you tell me who the architect is, or at least whether the plans are traditional or modern in style? thanks. and no, i'm not wearing blue today, unless you meant your question literally, since my pants are blue. as i said, i'm just "a longtime admirer of the campus" (as well as the u. as a whole), who knows a fair bit about the place for an outsider.</p>
<p>it was a few years ago and though they were actual architectural drawing (and by my limited knowledge, I a mean multiple sheets with tons of architectural looking things in blue as well as some sort of artists' rendition of the complete thing),I couldn't tell you who it was for the life of me however, as I don't know architects at all and wouldn't have recognized any name nor be able to recall his/her name or firm.</p>
<p>Were they traditional or modern?</p>
<p>What will happen to Kline on Prospect?</p>
<p>I thought the designs were modern, unappealing, and sort of bland, like a modernized harvard house actually, red brick. I don't remember exactly, but I seriously doubt those plans were in any way solid. I assume they'll get some horrific monstrosity yet again out of their architecture school. </p>
<p>I don't know what you mean by Kline on Prospect? Do you mean the Kline Biology Tower? Is something going to happen to it? Rumor had it that physics was going to move in after a new biology center is built. I don't know. The hill is getting bigger though. </p>
<p>Anyway, read this, the latest from the ydn, into which I appear to have an inside eye! </p>
<p>Yale is quietly conducting a study on the feasibility of building multiple new residential colleges, University officials said this week. </p>
<p>Within the last month or so, administrators said, President Richard Levin has personally coordinated updates to an old study exploring the financial implications of adding new facilities and students to Yale's roster. While officials said there has been no formal decision on the expansion, the study's new life confirms recent rumors that the University has a renewed interested in building colleges for the first time since 1961...</p>
<p>Well that pretty much confirms the rumor.</p>
<p>I believe I informed you of that not long ago, and you scoffed that it would not, and should not, happen!</p>
<p>"new colleges may line prospect st.":</p>
<p>Would this be accompanied by an expansion of class size, I wonder.</p>
<p>Yes, although the first priority will be to reduce or eliminate the chronic housing shortage, which leaves 17-18% of students outside the "colleges".</p>
<p>Where are you getting those numbers? You're the one who always needs a source.</p>
<p>If I recall, according to a YDN article from a year ago, no more than 100 people get annexed per year. Off-campus housing does not count, as you can't determine their motivations.</p>