Cornell NYC Tech Announces Joint Venture With Hudson Related To Build Residential Building On Roosevelt Island Campus - The 350 Units Are A Critical Piece To Attract Best Talent Says School's Dean Dan Huttenlocher

 Credit: Kilograph via Cornell NYC Tech

According to this Press Release just received from Cornell NYC Tech:

Cornell NYC Tech today announced the formation of a joint venture with The Hudson Companies and The Related Companies to construct the first residential building on its Roosevelt Island campus. The residential building will employ innovative new approaches to sustainability and bring the 24/7 activity vital to creating a vibrant community when the campus opens in 2017. Construction of the campus is set to begin in early 2014, with construction of the residential building slated for 2015.

The building will include approximately 350 housing units for students, staff and faculty, with a mix of micro units, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, and three bedroom suites. Planned amenities include a gym, bike room, lounge, roof deck, multi-purpose, collaboration, and media rooms for residents.

Aligned with Cornell Tech’s mission, the residential building will aim to set a new standard for high rise residential design, technology and innovation with a “best in class” approach to all building systems. It will rely on passive sustainable design features to achieve extraordinary reductions in energy use and carbon emissions.

“With Hudson and Related, Cornell Tech has added a development partner with enormous experience on Roosevelt Island to deliver one of the campus’ most important buildings,” said Cathy Dove, Vice President of Cornell Tech. “This is another example of a leading private sector partner excited to join Cornell in the early stages of the campus development, making Cornell Tech’s ambitious plans achievable on an aggressive timeline.”

“The residential building is a critical piece of Cornell Tech’s ability to attract the best talent by creating a 24/7 community of graduate students and faculty, with outstanding on-campus residential facilities that complement the leading-edge academic environment,” said Cornell Tech Dean Dan Huttenlocher. “Cornell Tech is centered around innovation, and this building will break new ground with its approach to sustainability and building systems design.”

“Hudson and Related could not be more excited for the opportunity to play a role in this once-in-a-lifetime development, which will bring immense growth to New York’s tech sector for generations to come,” said David Kramer, partner of The Hudson Companies. “This dynamic campus is a welcome addition to the Island, which we have gotten to know over the past 16 years. We plan on pushing the envelope for this building. The goal is to set a new standard for high rise residential design, technology and innovation.”

For the past 16 years, Hudson and Related have worked together with the community to develop quality housing and retail on Roosevelt Island, including Riverwalk, which comprises six completed residential buildings, one under construction and two more planned. Hudson and Related have also almost completed a major renovation project along Main Street that includes placing new retail uses on the Island’s commercial thoroughfare.

For the Cornell Tech residential building, Hudson and Related have put together an all-star team to assist in planning the building. These new partners join an impressive Cornell Tech development and design team working on various aspects of the campus, which includes Forest City Ratner Companies, Morphosis Architects, Weiss/Manfredi, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and James Corner Field Operations. The building is being designed by award-winning New York architecture firm Handel Architects. Buro Happold, world-renowned sustainability experts and engineers, are assisting with the low-energy strategy for the building, which will include state of the art mechanical system design.

“This building has the potential to be a game changer in residential design, combining high performance/passive technologies with a high degree of user control and accountability,” said Gary Handel, Handel Architects. “It’s a perfect fit for the campus’ ambition and we are looking forward to working with Cornell Tech, Hudson, Related and Buro Happold to make it a reality.”

“Buro Happold is thrilled to be working with Hudson, Related, Cornell Tech, and Handel Architects to design this next-generation, high-performance residential tower,” said Craig Schwitter, Principal, Buro Happold. “We’re proud to collaborate on a project that will prioritize passive design practices and maximize energy efficiency.”

Cornell NYC Tech is a revolutionary model for graduate tech education, forging a new intersection between academia and industry. It’s a staging ground for what’s next, fueling ground-breaking research and entrepreneurial thinkers who will create the technology that reinvents the way we live.

This is another major milestone for the campus. Classes began earlier this year in space donated by Google in Chelsea. Cornell Tech now includes a masters program in Computer Science, Ph.D. students in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Science, a world-class faculty and active collaborations with dozens of industry-leading organizations. Cornell Tech also launched its commitment to partnership with New York’s public school students, working with numerous organizations to bring tech education to a diverse audience.

Beginning in January, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute at Cornell Tech will welcome a number of postdocs to the campus. Later in 2014, the Jacobs Institute will launch its first degree program in Connective Media. Students in this two year program will receive degrees from both Technion and Cornell. The innovative program is designed to educate the entrepreneurial engineers and technologists needed in the media sector to respond to, and drive, the digital transformation of the industry. Also in 2014, Cornell Tech will launch a Johnson MBA. The program will fuse business, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in a fast-paced, hands-on learning environment.

The City's Applied Sciences NYC initiative was designed to capitalize on the considerable growth presently occurring within the science, technology and research fields in New York, and builds on the Bloomberg Administration’s dedication to creating a more diversified and competitive economy for the future. In December 2011, the Cornell and Technion partnership was selected by the City as the first winner of the Applied Sciences competition. When completed, the Roosevelt Island campus will house approximately 2,000 full-time graduate students.

As reported last Friday, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) approved the transfer of RIOC controlled land for the Cornell NYC Tech Roosevelt Island campus contingent upon NY State signing the agreed upon funding memo.

UPDATE 12/17: According to Josh Sirefman, Sirefman Ventures, who is leading the negotiations on the real estate for Cornell NYC Tech:

Cornell pursued a unique arrangement for this project to ensure that a great residential building would be built to enliven the campus 24/7 and that the university could provide affordable housing to its faculty, students and staff.

--Cornell and the partnership of Hudson/Related will co-own the building.

--Cornell will sublease land to the joint venture, and the JV will construct the building.

--The units will be restricted to Cornell faculty, students and staff, and because of Cornell’s investment, can be priced on the low-end of market.