A Columbia spokesman tells GlobeSt.com that the university has"already begun essential pre-construction activity, such as themovement of affected utility lines underneath Broadway. We aremoving immediately into other such pre-construction work and lookforward to beginning site preparation."

As described in the university's plan, the 17-acre project callsfor a build-out of 6.8 million square feet above grade and twomillion square feet below grade over the course of 25 years. Itwill encompass new scientific research facilities, other academicfacilities and university housing in 16 new buildings and oneadaptively reused existing structure. There will also be a two-acrepublic park at the west end of the Manhattanville campus. The ESDClast year determined that the Manhattanville area is blighted andis thus subject to property acquisitions through eminentdomain.

Along with creating a projected 14,000 construction jobs overthe course of the build-out and 6,000 permanent jobs, "theexpansion will provide nearly 100,000 square feet of publiclyaccessible open space, enhance the area's cultural activities andactivate the neighborhood's street life with wide sidewalks andground-floor retail uses," says Mayor Michael Bloomberg in astatement.