Financial Plan - Cornell University Division of Budget & Planning

Capital PlanIntroductionThe planning for Cornell’s physical resources increasinglyrequires the consideration and integration of avariety of factors, impacts, and constraints. No longercan capital planning be focused on specific projectswith minimal attention to the larger picture. Planningfor the university’s physical assets must encompass anattention to the fabric and function of the campus asa whole and a careful consideration of the factors thatinfluence or are affected by these facilities:• The need for infrastructure (utilities, transportation,parking and service, among other elements)• The provision of indoor and outdoor public spaces• The campus landscape and the preservation andtreatment of open spaces• The efficient utilization of space• The aesthetics of design• The financial trade-offs between facilities needs andother campus priorities and initiatives• Fundraising capacity and priorities• The availability of educational, research, and outreachsupport from New York State, the federalgovernment, and private resources• Debt capacity and repayment burden• The cost of operating and maintaining the campusOrganizations frequently employ the exercise of creatinga master plan as a tool to examine the matrix ofthese factors and guide the future planning of individualfacility projects. The tool’s utility is based as muchin its process as its outcome, for a well-crafted masterplan creates a structure for its own evolution, and it isthe constant revision that keeps the plan topical.Master PlanCornell has spent the past two years creating a comprehensivemaster plan for the Ithaca campus. Thisplan provides a framework for the development of thecampus that will facilitate decision making within thevision, principles, and features of the plan. The plandoes not mandate a defined set of projects, a growthrate, or a final result to be pursued, but instead offersa structure for determining how best to move forwardin developing the physical campus as the university’sacademic, research, teaching, extension, residentialand recreational priorities present needs for growthand development. The document indicates the generalnature, type of use, and massing of facilities in variousparts of the campus and identifies enabling projects,the provision of coordinated infrastructure, and publicgood and landscape projects that will be folded intothe specific capital needs of the units. The plan alsoprovides more detailed guidelines for the design of thecampus landscape and divides the campus into sevenprecincts and seventeen zones for more specific guidelinesand initiatives.The creation of the physical plan for the campus notonly started with the campus as it currently exists asa baseline, but by necessity, also incorporated andaccommodated capital project plans that are currentlyunderway in design or the start of construction (e.g.,Weill Hall, the Physical Sciences building, the AnimalHealth Diagnostic Center, Gates Hall, Milstein Hall,and the Human Ecology Building). Similarly, severalmajor projects that are being considered are alreadybeing planned within the context of the comprehensivephysical plan (e.g., the Engineering ResearchBuilding, the Health Services Facility, the East HillData Center, the Energy Recovery Linac, and the FoodScience Building). As future projects are considered,their fit within the framework of the master plan willbe examined. Projects that enable what are called “thebig steps” in realizing the campus vision will need tobe thoughtfully worked into individual facility plans.Space PlanningIntegrated space planning is a vital prerequisite ofimplementing the master plan. Existing building spaceis a limited and valuable resource and new space iscostly to construct, operate, and maintain. Cornell’sprograms occupy 1,074 buildings, representing 17.7million gross square feet of space, 11.3 million squarefeet of which is assigned for programmatic use. (Seetable at the top of page 45.) The Ithaca campus thatis the focus of the master plan contains 57 percentof those buildings but 80 percent of that total space.Research space, which represents 13 percent of grossspace and 22 percent of net assignable space on theIthaca campus, is in growing demand, and is some ofthe most expensive space to construct and maintain.44