College Ave Aerial.jpg

A rendering of a proposed bicycle and pedestrian bridge that would connect Rutgers-Livingston campus to the reconstructed heart of the College Avenue campus. (Contributed by Rutgers)

NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University officials unveiled part of a new physical master plan today that would transform the sprawling New Brunswick-Piscataway campus with dozens of new buildings, roadways and a boardwalk along the Raritan River.



The grand proposal, which is still little more than a wish list for Rutgers, also includes a new dining hall and student center and foot bridge over the Raritan River that would link the College Avenue and Livingston campuses for walkers and bikers.

"We are looking to maker the river part of the university, part of the fabric of the university and part of the life of the university," said Antonio Calcado, vice president of university facilities and capital planning.

Members of the Rutgers Board of Governors got a preview of the plan during today's meeting in Winants Hall in New Brunswick. Rutgers spent more than a year and more than $2 million in consulting fees coming up with a new 15-20 year physical plan for the university, which has hundreds of buildings across the state.



The changes for the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus would include knocking down several iconic Rutgers buildings, including Brower Commons and the Rutgers Student Center, to create a new heart of campus that would face the Raritan River.



"This is just a little smorgasbord of the plan," said Robert Barchi, Rutgers' president.



Additional details about similar makeovers for the Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden campuses will be unveiled at future Rutgers Board of Governors meetings, Barchi said.

Though the plan includes artists' renderings of what the new campus would look like, university officials said it will take a lot of planning and fundraising to make the proposals a reality. Rutgers officials hope to use public-private partnerships to help find funding for the plans.

Among the other changes proposed for the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus:

•Rutgers would keep its vast, and often criticized, bus system. But it would propose creating dedicated bus lanes along George Street in New Brunswick and other city streets to speed service.

•The university would reopen a closed road to create a bus and bike lane linking the Livingston and Busch campuses in Piscataway.

•A multi-building, high-tech research park would be created on the Livingston and Busch campuses near the Rutgers Athletic Center.

•A new faculty housing village would be constructed on Cook campus near Route 1 and College Farm Road in New Brunswick.

•A series of boardwalks would be built along the Raritan River in New Brunswick. Rutgers would also create access for recreation in the little-used 300-acre ecological preserve on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway.

Each piece of the plan is something Rutgers could and should be doing, Barchi said.

"I think if you can't generate a plan that is strategic and tactical that can be implemented, you haven't done anybody a service," he said. "It's one thing to create a vision. I'm all for a vision, but that's not what this is. This is a plan. It's something we intend to accomplish."

However, the university will need help through private or government partnerships or philanthropy, Barchi said.

"You can't do this on your own," he said.

Barchi declined to speculate on the cost of the master plan but said the university is trying to determine what each phase would cost. Some of the new ventures, such as the research park, would generate new revenue, he said.

The plan was well received by board members who commented during Tuesday's meeting.

Board Vice Chair Kenneth Schmidt said the plan follows other positive strides made the the university, which recently joined the Big Ten Conference.

"This place has become so exciting," Schmidt said.

The master plan is an effort to produce strategies for future growth that correlate with the university's long-term goals.

Rutgers held dozens of meetings, including public forums and sessions with students, to

produce a broad picture of what students and faculty members like and dislike about each of Rutgers' three campuses.

The physical master planning process follows the release of Rutgers new strategic plan, which was approved last year.

NJ Advance Media reporter Kelly Heyboer contributed to this story.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.