Stanford University Has Withdrawn Its Application To The City Of New York To Construct An Applied Sciences And Engineering Campus On Roosevelt Island.

Just received this breaking news from Stanford University:

Stanford University withdraws its bid for a NYC campus

Stanford University has withdrawn its application to the city of New York to construct an applied sciences and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island.

After several weeks of negotiations with New York City, university leaders and the Stanford Board of Trustees have determined that it would not be in the best interests of the university to continue to pursue the opportunity.

"I applaud the mayor's bold vision for this transformative project and wish the city well in turning that vision into a reality," said Stanford President John Hennessy. "Stanford was very excited to participate in the competition, and we were honored to be selected as a finalist. We were looking forward to an innovative partnership with the city of New York, and we are sorry that together we could not find a way to realize our mutual goals.

"Stanford put forward an ambitious and serious proposal and worked hard to see that vision fulfilled," Hennessy said. In the end, Hennessy said, the university could not be certain that it could proceed in a way that ensured the success of the campus. He said that the university decided to withdraw so that the city can move forward with its selection process and meet its tight timelines for the completion of the project.

"I appreciate the tremendous effort put forth at all levels of the university and the city. We are grateful for the enthusiastic support of the tech community both in New York and in Silicon Valley, the efforts of our alumni and the welcome we received throughout New York and from residents of Roosevelt Island in particular," Hennessy said. "We gained through this process a fruitful partnership with our colleagues at the City College of New York, a partnership that will strengthen both of our programs and will continue to benefit New York City students for many years to come.

"We learned much from this process and know there will be exciting opportunities in the future to explore the issues that were at the forefront of this effort—the challenge of expanding our ability to deliver Stanford's high-quality education to more outstanding students," Hennessy said. "Great universities need to continue to take risks, to innovate and to explore new opportunities where we can make contributions to supporting economic growth and expanding knowledge.  Stanford will continue to follow this path."

No further information available at this time. This is very disappointing news.

More information on the NYC Applied Sciences and Engineering School from previous posts.

UPDATE 5 PM - The Stanford Daily reports:

... Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said that negotiations between the University and New York were still ongoing as of this morning....

and:

In a speech at MIT in late November, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called both Stanford and Cornell “desperate” for the NYC campus and added that the city would “go back and try to renegotiate with each one.”

The NY Times City Room Blog adds:

... Stanford officials were frustrated by the city’s attempts to negotiate new terms after the university submitted its proposal in October, according to people briefed on the matter, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal private discussions....

Cornell Tech NYC Tweets:

BREAKING: Cornell receives $350 million dollar gift from anonymous donor to support #appscinyc bid - largest in Univ. history!

The NY Times City Room Blog adds:

New York City’s contest to build a science graduate school took a startling turn on Friday, as Cornell University announced that it had received a $350 million gift, the largest in its history, to help pay for a new campus on Roosevelt Island, moments after Stanford University, the other leading contender, dropped its bid, partly because Cornell had taken the lead in fund-raising....

UPDATE 5:50 PM
Roosevelt Island elected officials NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin and NY State Assembly Member Micah Kellner issued the following statement:

With today’s news that Stanford is withdrawing its bid, we urge the city to choose Cornell University to build an applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. It’s exciting to have a hometown school take the lead in our city’s economic future. Not only is Cornell a world-class academic institution, but it chose the perfect location for the school on Roosevelt Island.

UPDATE 12/17:- According to the NY Daily News:

... talks between the city and Stanford broke down in recent weeks after university officials refused to sweeten their proposal, sources close to the talks said. A deal could be announced as soon as next week.

“It was getting down to the very end of the negotiations, where the city is trying to get the best deal it can, and Cornell was offering a better deal in terms of money, in terms of other commitments . . . and Stanford couldn’t keep up,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Stanford officials hold a starkly different view of the dealings.

After submitting an ambitious plan for a $2.5 billion campus on Roosevelt Island, Stanford was taken aback by the city’s “unexpected” and “unreasonable” demands, sources said.

In a series of tense talks, a source said, city officials asked Stanford reps to agree to: move forward even if the $100 million in promised public funding dries up, sustain penalties for project delays — even those caused by the city — and indemnify the city against any costs associated with environmental problems on Roosevelt Island.

“They feel it was a bait-and-switch,” said a source familiar with Stanford’s thinking....

UPDATE 12/18 - Bill Aulet, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurial Center Tweets:

 Stanford withdraws bid for NYC Roosevelt Island Campus http://bit.ly/tVlCpD - that is a surpise after Mayor's comments here 2 wks ago

The NY Post reports that environmental conditions on the Roosevelt Island Goldwater Hospital site may have played a part in Stanford's withdrawal. According to the NY Post:

... The nation’s No. 2 engineering school was outbid by Cornell, which was willing to pay more to build on a Roosevelt Island site that required toxic cleanup. Stanford, meanwhile refused to agree to a bill for remediation that wasn’t capped, sources said....

... “Cornell was willing to agree to everything and anything,” one source said. “Stanford was a much tougher negotiator, and they and the EDC [the city’s Economic Development Corp.] just couldn’t get on the same page on a number of issues.”...

... Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin told The Post last night, “There was a level of risk and liability involved that our attorney and board could not agree to.’’...

UPDATE 9:50 PM -The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on Stanford withdrawing its proposal under the headline:

Stanford's Dream of 'Silicon Valley II' Dissolves Into Angry Recriminations

According to the article:

... Now come the recriminations: Did Stanford pull out because it took on bit off more than it could handle and didn't want to face an embarrassing loss? Or did New York City pull a bait-and-switch on an unsuspecting partner?

Neither side is saying much publicly. But through intermediaries, both sides are letting it be known that they're deeply unhappy and puzzled after more than a year of high-stakes lobbying and negotiating over what once loomed as a prestigious opportunity for a front-line research base in one of the world's showcase cities....

and:

... Over the weekend, sources sympathetic to each side sketched out for The Chronicle largely competing versions of events in the final days before Stanford's withdrawal.

New York City officials, speaking on condition they not be identified by name, essentially questioned Stanford's commitment. The New York Times had described one such official speaking in especially disparaging terms, saying Stanford "could not or would not keep up."

Stanford officials regard such comments as political spin, said one person familiar with the university's position. Stanford was fully committed to its application, the person said, but the city kept backing off its promises. One especially troublesome failure, the person said, involved the city's unkept promise to fully assess the extent of contamination from medical waste dumped at the proposed site on the southern end of Roosevelt Island.

The city instead demanded Stanford accept full liability for any problems from whatever waste is there, the person said. The city also demanded contract language requiring Stanford to stick with the project even if the city doesn't come up with the $100-million contribution it had been offering, the person said.

A New York City official disputed Stanford's understanding on each of those key points. The official, who declined to be identified by name, said a study of the proposed site found no contamination, medical or otherwise.

The city also made clear the $100-million was merely the outside range of what it might provide, not a guarantee, and that universities were expected to compete on the amount they would contribute to the project, the official said...

... Cornell's president, David J. Skorton, and a university spokesman, Thomas W. Bruce, sidestepped several questions about the dispute, giving no firm indication of whether the university also would accept full liability for any toxic waste that might be found at the Roosevelt Island site or whether it would accept the plan without any guarantee of $100-million in city money....

The Applied Sciences Facility In New York City July 19, 2011 Request For Proposals had this to say about hazardous materials at the Roosevelt Island Goldwater Hospital campus site (Page 52):

Haz Mats
AKRF performed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment at the RI Site in order to identify contamination issues that could affect future development (see Site File for Phase I). Initial analysis indicates that there may be lead in the topsoil on the RI Site and that the buildings will require lead and asbestos abatement. NYCEDC has commissioned Phase II testing on the RI Site, the results of which will be released in August 2011.

UPDATE 11:55 PM - Cornell wins. Will build school on Roosevelt Island.