Update
University updates federal legislators on College Avenue greening
Senators, congressman helped secure aid for vision of a green, pedestrian-friendly campus
U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., and New Brunswick Mayor James M. Cahill joined Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick Monday afternoon on the College Avenue Campus, which is undergoing a facelift as part of the president’s vision for the campus.
The New Jersey senators and Pallone, who represents the 6th District where Rutgers–New Brunswick is located, traveled from Washington, D.C., to view plans for the greening. The most prominent feature of the first phase of the greening is an elongated steel and glass structure that will serve as an intercampus transportation hub. Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos and Ignacio Bunster-Ossa of Wallace Roberts & Todd are leading the design team.
Efforts by Lautenberg, Menendez, and Pallone helped secure $150,000 to support the first phase of the greening project; an additional $1 million is pending in a bill before Congress. Bank of America gave a $1 million grant two years ago. The university has committed $17 million for the first phase.
Another central goal of the vision is to connect the College Avenue Campus with the Raritan River. “The Raritan here is as beautiful as the Charles in Cambridge,” McCormick said. “But our students have virtually no access to the river.”
The improvements to College Avenue will benefit all residents of New Brunswick, and Cahill called the city’s relationship with Rutgers “a great partnership.”
McCormick, Cahill, and the legislators also discussed numerous ways to ensure environmentally sound development, through cleaner buses and dedicated bike and pedestrian pathways.
Dymir Arthur, a Rutgers College senior and president of the Educational Opportunity Program Student Council, spoke with Lautenberg and said the senator seems to support the greening project. Arthur admitted he was initially wary of change to the campus with which he has become familiar.
“I saw that it was going to open up the campus as well as aid the campus culturally,” Arthur said. “Now when spring comes, this campus is going to look beautiful.”