NEW YORK CITY-In an effort to address long-range goals for growth as well as community concerns, New York University is seeking a parkland designation for green spaces at the edge of two Washington Square superblocks along LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street as part of its NYU 2031 expansion plan. The university announced late Thursday that the designation would allow NYU to build entirely on its existing footprint with no up-zoning or displacement of tenants while ensuring that the parkland--or DOT strips--remain as open space in perpetuity.

“By re-imagining the two superblocks, we are able to meet our academic space needs in our core Washington Square area over the next two decades and significantly reduce our need to expand our footprint within the neighborhood,” says NYU’s senior vice president Lynne Brown, in a statement.

The parkland designation will be noted on maps within the University’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application, which will be revised to include two new buildings located between West 3rd and West Houston streets, and La Guardia Place and Mercer Street. It will be filed with the city’s Department of City Planning in the coming days, NYU says.