The University announced April 17 that it is looking at a site south of Poe and Pardee fields, the traditional end of the P-rade at Reunions, as the location for a 500-student residential college.

At the same time, Princeton said that an area along Ivy Lane and Western Way, north of the football stadium, is a potential site for an expansion of the engineering school and for facilities to house environmental studies and the departments of geosciences and ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB). 

President Eisgruber ’83 described the sites as “promising locations” for the high-priority projects that emerged from Princeton’s strategic plan. But he added: “We have more work to do and more consultations to conduct before making final decisions, and we welcome comments from members of our campus, town, and alumni communities as we continue to refine our planning.” 

The future of the 275,000-square-foot EQuad, built in 1962, is still to be determined, according to Daniel Day, assistant vice president for communications. Also uncertain are plans for Guyot Hall, the 1909 building that houses geosciences, EEB, and the Princeton Environmental Institute. 

More details are expected with the release of Princeton’s campus plan in the fall. After the locations are set, architects will be selected and fund-raising will take place.

From the time that groundbreaking occurs, Day said, it would take about five years for the residential college — Princeton’s seventh — to open. The proposed site, located between Elm Drive and Roberts Stadium, is large enough to accommodate an additional residential college in the future, he said. 

Located on the planned sites for the engineering and environmental facilities are parking lots, 30 townhouses for faculty and staff, and a building that houses the Center for the Study of Religion.

Emily Carter, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said new facilities are “absolutely crucial” to the school’s future. She said cramped and dated facilities “hamper our ability to attract and retain talent at every level.”

While all departments are affected, she said, computer science has been squeezed most acutely because of a rapid increase in course enrollment and concentrators. The department is housed in all or parts of six buildings, she said. Initiatives in bioengineering and robotics also require much more space, she said, and “we have to make the case to our alumni, parents, and friends” to support expanded facilities and faculty.

The University said it anticipates a variety of uses south of Lake Carnegie, and that it is considering building a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the lake near DeNunzio Pool. Among the possibilities for the land, in West Windsor Township, are tennis courts and softball facilities to replace those on the site of the new residential college; buildings for academic and innovation initatives; and housing for graduate students and postdocs. All academic classrooms and all undergraduate housing would continue to be located north of the lake.