Colgate's south lawn will remain undeveloped, revised plan says 

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Developer Angelo Ingrassia, who hopes to buy and develop the former Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity school campus, has promised not to ever develop the sweeping south lawn on South Goodman Street and Highland Avenue.

Ingrassia has agreed to a “preservation easement in perpetuity," according to a statement today from his spokesperson.

Ingrassia has been meeting with neighbors to discuss his plans for the property for about a year, and residents have consistently objected to developing the picturesque south lawn. He has made other concessions in his plans, but he also says that new housing is needed in order to preserve and sustain the south lawn and the historic buildings on the site. In the past, Ingrassia has said the historic buildings could be marketed for residential, office, or education use, as well as for a hotel.

Ingrassia also wants to construct two new apartment buildings, and some area residents have expressed concerns about them. In the statement today, Ingrassia says the height of both buildings has been reduced, to four stories from the original five.

The number of units in the new building on the east side of the site has been increased to 52 units, from the earlier 40. The units in the building on the north side of the site have been reduced to 52 units, with a square footage of 15,600, from the original 115 units, with a square footage of 30,000. That building's setback from properties on Highland Parkway has been increased to 100 feet, from the original 65 feet.

Plans for underground parking for the north building have also been eliminated, which will reduce the amount of excavation required on the steep hillside.

The 22-acre site located on South Goodman near Highland Park has been home to a divinity school since the 1930’s. Ingrassia wants the city to rezone the property from an Institutional Planned Development district to a Planned Development district, with construction starting in late 2019.