By Elizabeth Ladzinski
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — The team behind the controversial NYU 2031 expansion plan will meet with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday to discuss proposed landscaping modifications to the open space around the Silver Towers site.
The meeting comes a few weeks after NYU officially announced its plans for developing "superblocks" in Washington Square that would add 2 million square feet to the area.
While NYU decided against building a controversial 400-foot tall fourth tower at I.M. Pei's landmark-protected Silver Towers complex, at 505 LaGuardia Place, the university still has a say on how the surrounding space will look.
The university's proposal includes adding trees, lighting, a playground and a dog run — features that left some locals unimpressed at a March 7 Community Board 2 meeting, according to Curbed.
But George Miller, a managing partner at I.M. Pei's design firm, wrote a letter of approval for the landscaping proposal, saying that the introduction of trees along Houston Street and other design features would be "positive improvements," and that the proposed modifications would "respect the landmark status of the site."
While the LPC's approval is needed to achieve the improvements to the open space, it is not needed for the broader expansion plan, which will go through the mandated Uniform Land Use Review Procedure later this year, according to a spokesman for NYU 2031.
All of the plans for NYU 2031 exapnsion can be viewed online here.
