Mixed Grades for Fordham University's Growth Plan

This article by Alex Mindlin in The New York Times, describes neighborhood opposition to campus expansion plans at Fordham University in New York City, including the sale of some formerly public university land for private development:

For five decades, Fordham University’s campus near Lincoln Center has had the feel of a cathedral close. The campus, which extends from Columbus to Amsterdam Avenue between 60th and 62nd Streets, is relatively underbuilt. At its heart is a grassy plaza from which the sky is visible in three directions. The land was sold to Fordham in the 1950s by the city, which had acquired it using eminent domain.

In 2005, citing enrollment that was double what could comfortably fit, Fordham proposed to vastly expand this campus over the next 25 years, tripling the built space on its land with eight new buildings in a horseshoe arrangement. The tallest buildings, at 50 and 55 stories, would be a pair of private apartment towers on Amsterdam Avenue. Proceeds from the sale of those lots would help finance Fordham’s other new buildings, including 25- and 31-story dormitories along Columbus Avenue.