NEW YORK CITY-In keeping with its “NYU 2031” expansion plan, New York University said Thursday it’s applying for Landmarks Preservation Commission approval of a fourth tower within the landmarked University Village site, also known as Silver Towers. NYU had originally proposed building on a university-owned site west of the landmarked area, currently occupied by a Morton Williams supermarket, but now says that putting up the tower within the I.M. Pei-designed University Village cluster would be preferable. The three existing towers contain a mix of housing for university faculty and co-op apartments.

“By shifting the proposed tower eastward” into the landmarked area, “it is possible to better integrate a new building with the existing I.M. Pei design, add to the ‘dynamic’ pinwheel arrangement of the buildings, preserve clear view corridors, frame the ‘Bust of Sylvette’ sculpture and anchor the fourth corner of the site with green space,” according to the university’s overview of the LPC filing. NYU SVP Lynne Brown says in a release, “In the months since we released the NYU 2031 Strategy and unveiled the design, we have continued to refine our thinking, and are now ready to officially begin review of the project by public agencies.”

The university won’t begin the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure until 2011, but Brown says the LPC’s findings “will clarify whether we proceed with our preferred scenario or the alternative” of building on the Morton Williams site. “This is an extra step in the approvals process, but one that is worth taking.”

Consideration by the landmarks commission will mark the first stop on the approvals road due to the Pei site’s landmarked status. Manhattan’s Community Board 2, which plays an advisory role, will also weigh in before the commission conducts at least one hearing and takes a vote.