The project’s details were withheld prior to the planning meeting, and during the meeting, only the overall placement and purpose of the buildings was given. Following the RPI presentation, objections from residents of Detroit and Michigan Avenues were heard, and the committee voted without discussion. The Planning Committee then issued a resolution indicating its intent to be the “lead agency” for the project going forward—rather than another local or state entity. The resolution did not approve the project, but simply indicated the committee’s intent to go ahead with the planning application process.

Eleven months ago, RPI went to the Planning Committee with plans for a construction of a turf field complex, including extensive coaches’ offices, team locker rooms, and a press and VIP level. The planning board, however, did not act on the proposal because of insufficient data on future plans for the area and vociferous resident objections over issues of noise pollution, light pollution, water drainage, and traffic.

The new “Master Plan” presented last Thursday is, according to Rounds, “a substantially new plan” including “a detailed environmental impact statement.”

Furthermore, the new plan would not be held up by funding concerns, Rounds indicated, because the Board of Trustees has chosen to fund the project directly, rather than waiting for donations to come in.

The current incarnation of the East Campus Athletic Village will have no competition fields in Lower Renwyck (as previously proposed), but will instead have a new football field with seating for 7,500, a gym with seating for 2,000, a new 50-meter pool, an indoor track and field area, indoor tennis, and four outdoor tennis courts. The Houston Field House will also have an addition put onto the back facing the new stadium.

To facilitate traffic control, Rounds and the architects mentioned that Georgian Terrace, the street going between Upper and Lower Renwyck Fields from Peoples Avenue to Hoosick Street, will be permanently repurposed as a “pedestrian area” and closed to vehicles. Concerns were later brought up by residents regarding an increase in fire response time, drainage, and traffic (particularly during games and Commencement).

The football stadium, the first part of Phase I, along with the closing of Georgian Terrace, will include underground team locker rooms, retractable seats, basketball courts, weight and strength training equipment for team use, as well as multipurpose conference rooms, concessions, lounges, and offices. The existing upper lots, which the architects called “under-used,” will be cleared to make way for the stadium, eliminating approximately 88 parking spaces.

Following the main presentation, many longtime residents of Troy, particularly those from Detroit and Michigan Avenues, made their case for the immediate cessation of the project. The main points of contention revolved around the issues of traffic “cut-throughs” resulting from the demolition of Georgian Terrace, and the “we will build it and they will come” mentality of building a 7,500-person football stadium for RPI’s Division III football team. Many feared a 15-year procession of dump trucks up their residential streets, while others felt that the sewage and drainage systems were inadequate to the task. Also, many residents mentioned what they considered RPI’s continual failure to provide answers to the oft-asked questions of light pollution, drainage, traffic, and a plethora of other issues.

Following the formal presentation and the public discussion, no committee discussion took place and the resolution was unanimously accepted. Once the environmental impact statement is prepared, RPI will return to its lead agency, the Planning Committee, for final approval on the first phase on the plans, which would also constitute at least a tacit commitment for the entire master plan as presented. Assuming it is approved, the entire project is expected to take anywhere from 10-15 years and cost over $50 million.