Columbia University has been in the process of a major expansion project that will weave the university further into its West Harlem location. The expansion, called The Columbia Project, has been underway since the final public approval was made by the New York State Public Authorities Board in May 2009.

According to the Columbia University site that focuses on the project, the plan will result in 6.8 million or more square feet of space for teaching, support services and underground parking and the growth can also create new jobs. However, one Columbia University site about the expansion explains that negative results would be the closing of an estimated 80 or more businesses and destroy 132 affordable housing units, the influx of Columbia University affiliates to the area could increase housing costs and the new businesses that derive from the expansion could cater more to new residents.

Basically, the expansion most likely will change the original character of West Harlem.

Community Board Manager of district 9 Eutha Prince said that there is practically no commercial space, and with the school expansion, people and businesses are being displaced. “Businesses are closing, there are not as many ‘mom and pop’ shops,” she said.

Let’s face it, New York is crowded enough. Columbia University is already taking on a global expansion, Phase One, to Rio de Janeiro and Nairobi, which is explained more in four separate YouTube videos . There isn’t a lot of room for a well-known school to expand so the neighborhood has to put itself in a position where it would sacrifice small businesses.

However, Columbia University as mentioned before suggests job possibilities, or 6,000 as a result of the expansion. Jobs include administrative assistant jobs, cooks, lab technicians and mechanics, which are open to various ages and skill levels, retired or new to the workforce.

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