With several notable projects already under his belt, Andrew C. Winters, founding director of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office of Capital Project Development, will lead the development of Cornell’s New York City tech campus, the University announced Thursday. Winters’ has worked on the New York City High Line –– an elevated linear park on the lower West Side –– and the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan.
“[Winters] has tremendous experience and has led or been involved in every recent significant project in the city,” Vice President of CornellNYC Tech Cathy Dove said in an email. “We are thrilled to have someone of his caliber on our team.”
Winters will be responsible for overseeing the planning and construction of the campus, which is expected to consist of more than two million square feet by its projected date of completion in 2037, according to a University press release. Additionally, as a net-zero energy technology hub, the tech campus will have more than 700,000 square feet of building space.
This space is expected to achieve at least a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating, according to the press release. The LEED rating, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, will conservation as well as the sustainability of the materials and practices used in its construction.
The University has announced plans to begin construction in 2014 and to open the campus’ first building in 2017.
According to Dove, Winters’ work for the city will not “change the role of the city in our project at all.”
“[Winters] will be employed by Cornell,” she said. “We will continue to work closely with the city as we were before.”
Robert K. Steel, New York City deputy mayor for economic development, echoed Dove’s sentiment.
“It has been a privilege to work with [Winters], and I am confident that [he] will bring the same vision, talent and energy that he brought to the Bloomberg administration to Cornell and Roosevelt Island,” he said in the press release.
Winters said he is excited to begin his position at Cornell.
“The CornellNYC Tech campus has captured the imagination of New Yorkers as a way to elevate our position in the world of technology and to provide a promising new direction for the city’s economy,” he said in the press release. “It will be very exciting to work on such an important project in the service of a world-class institution like Cornell.”
Winters will begin his new position in May. According to the press release, he has worked for Bloomberg on projects worth almost $2 billion in public investments, several of which have won awards for their design and innovation.
Some of Winters’ past projects include the revitalization of Coney Island and the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Additionally, prior to working for Bloomberg, Winters was the vice president for planning, design and development at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, a company was created after the Sept. 11 attacks in an effort to rebuild and develop the affected neighborhood.
“Winters led the planning and execution of many of Mayor Bloomberg’s most important and lasting economic development projects, and we are thrilled that Cornell has chosen him to help lead the implementation of one of the most ambitious economic development initiatives anywhere in the world,” Steel said in the press release.
Original Author: Kaitlyn Kwan