Hofstra University President Susan Poser delivered her annual State of the University address on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, and announced the school’s plan for a 15-acre “college town” on campus.
Poser said the plan includes adding a new lacrosse stadium and associated sports facilities on the north side of campus, near the Mack Arena and the other sports facilities currently on the campus. She also said the plan involves replacing the James M. Shuart Stadium, located on the south side of campus, and using the land to develop a mixed-use, walkable area “with the amenities of a small village.”
An advisory panel from the Urban Land Institute visited the campus in early September for five days, analyzing the plan’s feasibility on Hofstra’s campus, Poser said.
She said the studies have provided both short-term and long-term possibilities and she will provide further details on future developments.
Poser said the possibility of the college town comes months after the Las Vegas Sands Casino opted against bringing a proposed $5 billion resort and casino to Uniondale.
“We’re very pleased that there will not be a massive casino development across the street from Hofstra, due to the withdrawal of the Las Vegas Sands casino proposal,” Poser said during her address.
She added that the school was openly against the proposal.
“We can now look ahead with hope and expectation that a more community-minded and sustainable development will be built,”
According to the university’s map, there are no dorms on the southern part of its campus, which is divided in half by Hempstead Turnpike.
