City Newspaper Archives - 2/2008
DEVELOPMENT: Housing at Colgate Divinity?
Published by Tim Louis Macaluso on Feb 20, 2008
To raise cash, some of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School's land may be sold to real-estate developers, says a spokesperson for the school. The school is located on 25 acres across from Highland Park on South Goodman Street. One area under consideration is the large undeveloped parcel on the campus's south hillside along Highland Avenue.
Private schools, similar to hospitals and museums, have special zoning designations, says Johanna Brennan, legal counsel for the city. These institutions are usually on large parcels of land zoned as Planned Development Districts, she says, and use of the land is limited. Colgate can build only to meet its educational needs.
Selling a portion of the campus to developers for housing would require changing the zoning from a planned district to residential. And it would require, at minimum, approvals by the Planning Commission and City Council, as well as a site-plan review.
An earlier proposal to build townhouses on the Highland Avenue side of the Colgate campus was turned down by the city during the Johnson administration. There wasn't a big demand for new housing in the city at the time.
So far, the Buildings and Zoning Department has not received plans for development at Colgate.
Article Photos
Some of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School's 25 acres on South Goodman Street may be sold for housing. Photo by Joe Bell.
