Work is continuing on the demolition and construction of the Manhattanville campus, though there aren’t yet any buildings to show for it.
Last spring, University officials said that they had demolished approximately 27 buildings, including all of the University-owned properties between 129th and 130th streets and several buildings on the block between 130th and 131st streets. Now, construction crews are working to finish the job and beginning the first stages of underground construction.
The most ambitious undertaking of the current construction project is the slurry wall. The slurry wall is a series of 200-foot-wide concrete cages that will keep water out of the foundation of the Jerome L. Greene Science Center—the building that will house the University’s Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative—as well as the central energy plant that will heat and cool the Manhattanville campus.
“Slurry wall construction is progressing well and the portion of the slurry wall for the Jerome L. Greene Science Center and the central energy plant is slated for completion by the end of this year,” University spokesperson Victoria Benitez said in a statement.
The slurry wall itself is a reinforced concrete wall built underground, used to prevent groundwater flooding in areas with high water tables. Building the slurry wall is a two-year construction process, during which trenches are dug and metal cages are lowered into the ground, then filled with concrete.
Though many local residents have complained that the University has not been providing enough job opportunities in the initial phases of construction, Executive Vice President of Facilities Joe Ienuso said in a meeting last spring that the current work is extremely specialized.
“There’s big equipment, but not thousands of people,” said Ienuso. “What is going on is this process of excavating, and it needs to be done in a highly technical and safe way in order to protect the workers building this trench.”
This month, building demolition is underway on the block bordered by 130th and 131st streets east of 12th Avenue.
Storm sewers are also being reinstalled around St. Clair Place in an effort to “replace outdated 19th century sewage and water main systems in Manhattanville,” according to a University construction report. This will ultimately improve the water quality of the Hudson River and decrease stress on the wastewater treatment center below Riverbank State Park, officials said.
Though most of the current work is underground, University officials estimate that the Jerome L. Greene Science Center will open its doors in 2016.
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