Caltech Wins OK for Master Plan

After two years of negotiations with its neighbors and historical preservationists, Caltech has won Pasadena’s approval for a master plan that will guide campus development for the next 25 years.

Caltech is expected to eventually add up to 1.8 million square feet in an undetermined number of buildings, with as many as 785 dormitory rooms to accommodate all of the school’s undergraduates and about two-thirds of the graduate students.

Neighbors of the 124-acre campus had originally opposed the plan, saying that Caltech had failed to protect the neighborhood from increased traffic, noise and pollution.

The plan was approved after Caltech reached an agreement with the neighbors, but not with preservationists, who gave up much of their fight to save 40 houses on school property.