In the Morris Park neighborhood of The Bronx, a study released this month shows how a planned rezoning and new public transit opportunities can help reshape the Montefiore Health System’s local campus — a longtime community anchor — into a major regional wellness, healthcare, and employment hub with a vibrant public realm.

Sharing the recommendations of an interdisciplinary group of urban planning and policy experts including Mike Aziz, a partner at leading architecture and urban design firm Cooper Robertson, the study, called Reimagining Montefiore Einstein-Morris Park as a Transit-Connected Campus, was led by the land use policy organization Urban Land Institute’s New York Chapter (ULI NY). A press release on the study from ULI NY follows below.

The report uses the anticipated 2027 opening of a new Metro-North commuter rail station and a likely New York City-led neighborhood-wide rezoning as jumping-off points, outlining critical steps that Montefiore leaders can take to shape the institution’s growth in a way that benefits a broad array of stakeholders including local residents, patients and employees. Key findings cover a wide range of recommendations, including:

• The potential for new and improved public spaces and infrastructure upgrades, including the creation of flexible, multi-use plazas connecting the Montefiore campus to the new Metro-North station, and redesigns of major local roadways for greater pedestrian safety and storm resiliency.

• Identifying several specific sites at the campus edge for new community-focused, mixed-use development such as urgent care clinics or community centers with office and administrative space above.

• Strategies for renovating and upgrading existing campus facilities to be more welcoming and to better engage with the public, for instance by recladding buildings with glass at pedestrian level.

This type of urban design and district-scale framework planning is a core focus for Cooper Robertson, an internationally renowned firm known for creating influential master plans shaping educational and institutional campuses and entire city neighborhoods.

Cooper Robertson partner Mike Aziz, AIA, LEED AP, who contributed to the new ULI NY study, has directed large-scale, long-range, and interdisciplinary planning efforts for public and private clients including in the City of Middletown, Connecticut, the 400-plus-acre Riverton development in New Jersey, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Facilities Master Plan, and the Sacramento River District Vision Plan. He has also led significant campus planning projects including for The George Washington University, Georgia State University, and the University of Maryland, whose ambitious new Facilities Master Plan debuted earlier this year.

The full press release from ULI New York is here, and the report itself is available for download here.