Uh, no you don’t!
RPI recently submitted the plans for Dr. Jackson’s new house to the city in order to try and gain a zoning exception that would allow the planned 9,000 square foot structure to be built. The current zoning in the area limits structures to 25 ft tall, while the plans have the new presidential home somewhere between 41 and 44 feet tall.
The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the request. “I wonder how RPI, which is known for its engineers, why someone couldn’t present a proposal that fits inside the city limits” ZBA Chairman Jay Vandenburgh said (with what we can only imagine as a bit of snark.) This isn’t the death knell for the house, but there is no word on whether RPI will change the plans, or try some politicking in order to get the zoning variance.
More at the Times Union here.
An earlier TU story drew attention to the discrepancy between the desired height and zoned height cap. Guess who was quoted? This blog.
And as always, if you’d like to join the Facebook group (or become a fan in this case) to show your support for the latest criticism-du-jour of RPI, that can be found here.
photo from here
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Congrats on being quoted by the Times Union! I love this blog, keep up the good work!
I’m beginning to wonder when the students are going to get to see the plans for this new house. Heck, we don’t even know who’s designing it-though probably not a graduate of the School of Architecture (they could put an entire vertical studio to work on that project).
Can RPInsider look into what the sticky soy sauce stuff is that RPI is putting on the sidewalks?
@matt
Seriously!
But in regards to the post – makes you wonder how much educational institute is like running a politically-tied business. :/ And where interests truly lie.
pretty sure they soy sauce stuff is just an eco-friendly ice-removing compound.
A very fucking smelly eco friendly ice removing compound. Fuck that shit.
25 ft seems fairly low. sad part is even if this house doesnt get built an assload of money has already gone into it
Why is everybody so bent out of shape over this presidential house thing? The funding is coming entirely from the Board of Trustees in the form of private donations. Why should any of you have a say over what one does with their own money? The institutions of our contemporaries and those we aspire to be like (MIT, CMU, CalTech) all have facilities suited for high-profile entertaining.
Do you all hate this project simply because it serves Dr. Jackson?
@Henry yeah I agree. The house is for presidents today and tomorrow. Shirley won’t be around forever. The house before apparently had health issues and had fallen into near disrepair (it used to be a HUNTING lodge for Christ’s sake). The time had come for a new one. Think that house is big? Try going down south where I’m from to see the Univ. of MD and UNC presidential houses. They really are massive mansions.
Working with Jackson and the administration will achieve much more than simply fuming about her to yourself and your friends at parties…