Not too long ago, there was an unofficial Bradley campus map floating around that showed all the same stuff that was announced officially today. Back then, the map was pooh-poohed as highly speculative. I decided to compare the two maps to see how much they differed, and the answer is — not much! Other than different coloring and legends, the only striking difference is the new arena, highlighted here:

Old “Unofficial” Map

New “Official” Map

Notice the comparative size of the prospective arena. Since the unofficial map was produced, the arena has been made twice as large, unless the old map was showing the current Field House. Thankfully, the parking lot was not doubled in size. None of the artists’ renderings show elevations of these buildings compared to the houses just across the alley. Imagine having a 5-story parking deck in your back yard. Pretty hard to “buffer” a massive structure like that.

The more interesting feature from my point of view is that the Institutional Zoning boundary (blue line) is shown in the old map, but conspicuously absent from the new map. That’s probably wise, considering Bradley hasn’t actually asked for permission from the Zoning Commission or the City Council to expand the boundaries yet. Updating their Institutional Facilities Master Plan, as required by ordinance before they can expand, clearly is not a big concern of theirs.

The funniest line in the whole Journal Star article about this expansion, though, was this zinger: “[Vice President Gary] Anna said the university wants to work with the neigborhood and plans a meeting with them in early September.” I cannot make it through that sentence without laughing my head off every time. Just what, pray tell, is there left to “work with the neighborhood” about? The houses are bought, the plans are made, the money is coming in…. Perhaps the neighbors will get to choose whether they get arbor vitae or a stone wall between them and the parking deck. Whoopee!