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17-23

Trip starts today
Local leaders leave for Madison, Wis.
Chapel Hill News - 23 Sep 2006
...CHAPEL HILL, NC - Nearly 100 community, university and business leaders head to Madison, Wis., today.

For three days, they'll tour the city, attend sessions on downtown development, workforce housing and arts and culture, and meet with their Dane County, Madison and University of Wisconsin counterparts.

The trip was organized by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Foundation for a Sustainable Community.

Though Madison is a much larger city than Chapel Hill and a state capital, chamber executive director Aaron Nelson said there are strong similarities between the two areas. Lessons from the construction of Madison's research park in the 1980s and current plans for a second one can help Carolina North planners, Nelson said.

Madison's State Street, he said, "may be one of the best college town Main Streets in the country." Right now, developers are building eight- and nine-story condo projects downtown, like those Chapel Hill is considering...

Century of success
Sun - 23 Sep 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - Machen cited collaborative efforts between the community and UF to help revitalize east Gainesville as a positive example of town and gown relations. Last year, UF opened a 12-acre, $8.2 million facility on the east side, which houses some of the university's primary computer functions.

Carl Van Ness, UF's historian, noted that relations between the community and an ever-growing university have not always been rosy. Indeed, greater student movement into traditional single-family neighborhoods in Gainesville has been the source of much debate in recent years. The mix of sometimes rowdy students and families in the same neighborhoods can be a source of tension in any college town, Van Ness said, and Gainesville is no exception...

Friday's celebration also worked to preserve UF's living history for future generations. UF, city, state and county officials contributed mementos to a time capsule that will be sealed in UF's archives for 100 years...

Students, residents at odds
Daily Star - 23 Sep 2006
...ONEONTA, NY - A perennial town-gown conflict has re-emerged in recent meetings at City Hall, with some city residents saying student conduct in neighborhoods is getting ugly.

With the growth of the short-term summer rental market, they are also saying it could get worse.

Debate over student rentals in the Center City area was interwoven with discussion over short-term summer rentals for baseball camp families at an Intergovernmental Affairs Committee meeting last month and a Common Council meeting Tuesday.

Residents and city officials say growth of both forms of rentals are depleting the stock of owner-occupied homes in the city, which in turn is degrading the quality of life in some neighborhoods...

OSU board slams slots
Gambling issue won’t solve college-funding problems, trustees say
Dispatch - 23 Sep 2006
...COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio State University Board of Trustees yesterday came out strongly against the Learn and Earn ballot measure that would allow slotmachine gambling in Ohio.

"If we are silent, it implies we support it because we could benefit from it," said trustee Leslie H. Wexner, Limited Brands founder. "I think it’s very clever — and bad public policy."

The constitutional amendment, Issue 3 on the November ballot, would send 30 percent of the money raised through slots into college scholarships that students would earn while in high school, hence the "Learn and Earn" tag. It would allow seven horse-racing tracks and two downtown Cleveland casinos to operate 31,500 slot machines...

The arts are good for Hattiesburg
American - 23 Sep 2006
...HATTIESBURGH, MS - The fortunate thing for Hattiesburg is that the infrastructure is already in place. Many of the city's oldest buildings have been converted to uses such as upscale restaurants. The Bottling Company draws a crowd. The Saenger Theatre offers top quality performances. Downtown apartments are part of the mix. And downtown Hattiesburg's landscape is punctuated by historic structures whose architectural integrity is the envy of cities of equal size.

The key is to provide people reasons to revisit them over and over.

As a university town with a healthy combination of college students, seasoned professors and professionals in other areas of life, Hattiesburg has the natural demographics that often have a special affinity for the arts and cultural amenities...

College plans housing project
Republican - 23 Sep 2006
...AMHERST, MA - Hampshire College has signed a development agreement with Beacon Communities Development of Boston to build a 120-unit residential community on college land aimed at people 50 and older.

"We're targeting people who are probably in their 50s or 60s, people who are interested in downsizing their living quarters and are interested in living close to our institution and the other colleges," said Johan G. Brongers, vice president for finance and administration at Hampshire, yesterday...

UM a profitable fixture for Gables
More than just a place for higher education, the University of Miami has an economic impact of more than $1 billion on Coral Gables, according to one report. The school is striving to be a good corporate citizen in the midst of a rift with neighbors.
Herald - 23 Sep 2006

George Merrick included a university in his vision for his ''City Beautiful,'' and in 1926 he jump-started the endeavor with a 600-acre, $5 million donation for the University of Miami.

Since then, the university's presence has spurred much economic and cultural growth in Coral Gables, university officials say...

in response to the rift between the school and nearby residents, the university in 2003 launched Collegetown, a program that allows neighbors in the immediate area to take advantage of some campus events and services.

''It was created with the sole purpose of creating a better relationship with our immediate neighbors,'' Artecona said.

UM neighbors receive schedules, maps and a Cane Community Card that provides a discount at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, the Bill Cosford Cinema and certain athletic events...

5 developers meet deadline in bid to build university in Charlotte
Herald-Tribune - 23 Sep 2006
...CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FL - Developers have been vying to build the university campus since January. So far, all of them have selected agriculturally zoned land, which otherwise could not be developed under county codes.

The university gave bidders several requirements, including a donation of at least 150 acres, enough to hold 10,000 students, and $5 million in seed money...

Landlords quitting due to tough new Government rules
Firstrung - 23 Sep 2006
...UK - Landlords with multi-occupation properties are quitting the letting market because of tough new Government rules.

The Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors said a quarter of surveyors in the south of England were selling their properties as they struggle with 'House in Multi-Occupation' laws.

The laws were introduced in April to ensure that landlords that operate bedsit-style properties, or a single property that has been divided by two with the residents sharing a bathroom or kitchen, were licensed.

To be licensed they had to ensure the property met strict health and safety laws, such as having the appropriate fire doors...

Officials discuss redevelopment costs in College Park
Gazette - 22 Sep 2006
...COLLEGE PARK, MD - College Park officials said the long-awaited downtown redevelopment project, which includes a new City Hall, condominiums and a parking garage would not raise taxes for city residents.

City lawyers and Mayor Stephen Brayman discussed the costs of the city’s downtown redevelopment with residents Sept. 21, revealing that the downtown parking garage — the centerpiece of the project — would cost about $7.3 million. The city hired Alabama-based Capstone Development Corporation to head all the projects.

If all goes according to the city’s plan, College Park will make $67 million after spending about $46 million on the condo project.

Earlier this year, the city unveiled plans to move City Hall to Calvert Road, leaving the current City Hall site open for new condominiums. The condos will be nine stories, the city’s development outline said, which some residents felt would not mesh with the character of the downtown...

Housing may go up on Lasick’s property
Student-housing developer purchases adjacent land
Diamondback - 22 Sep 2006
...COLLEGE PARK, MD - When Joe Lasick Jr.’s family-owned restaurant, Lasick’s Beef and Seafood, burned down two years ago, he pledged to rebuild with the traditional nautical theme, honoring the 60-year-old establishment’s legacy as a “cozy” place to “relax and have a beer”.

But Lasick now appears to be scrapping those designs, as discussions between the restaurateur and JPI Property Management, the management company at University Town Center in Hyattsville, has led county and city officials to say a large-scale housing development could be in the works...

UW freshmen join the packed
Surprising influx of students means 3 in rooms built for 2
Post-Intelligencer - 22 Sep 2006
...SEATTLE, WA - So many students have applied for university housing this fall that three -- not just two -- are sharing each of the 382 dorm rooms. Others are temporarily living in lounges and other residence hall spaces until beds become available.

Although the UW has placed students in "triples" in the past, this year it's happening more than ever, officials said. There's even a waiting list of students who live within commuting distance to campus who want university housing but couldn't get it because of lack of space...

Officials say ordinances wouldn't hurt enrollment
American - 22 Sep 2006
...HATTIESBURG, MS - Several property owners and students at a Monday meeting said they believe passing an ordinance limiting off-campus housing could make students think twice about coming to one of Hattiesburg's two universities.

But officials say growth in the private apartment market and a willingness by council to work out the kinks in the proposed ordinance should allay those concerns...

"I think they're going to come up with something reasonable," she said. "But I do think this is a wake-up call that the people who want to live in the city do want something to happen."

Council President Carter Carroll said he hopes to look to a similar-sized university town such as Auburn, Ala., and see how its officials have handled off-campus student housing.

"Auburn has areas where college students cannot rent. We need to look at other cities that are university-driven and see what they are doing," Carroll said. "There has got to be a way to get this done. We can do it in a precise way, but we have to do it in a fast way."...

Neighbors decry UMass drinking
Republican - 22 Sep 2006
...AMHERST, MA - Residents who live near the University of Massachusetts at Amherst implored campus officials and local police to do more to combat drunken student behavior in their neighborhoods during a forum on campus last night.

Public urination, screaming, speeding vehicles and vandalism were just a few of the problems neighbors cited during the gathering inside Campus Center that was organized by the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High Risk Drinking.

"The concerns of the neighborhood are long-standing," said Elissa Rubinstein, who lives on Fearing Street. "There have been parties already this year with several hundred people attending. That affects us. It's in our back yard."...

Education Realty Trust Starts Work at University of Alabama Campus in Tuscaloosa
Plans Call for Fall 2007 Opening of New On-Campus Community
PrimeZone - 21 Sep 2006
...TUSCALOOSA, AL - Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) today announced that construction has started on a new $30 million on-campus student community at The University of Alabama.

The 631-bed Ridgecrest Residential Community is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. The two buildings will feature primarily four-bedroom/two-bathroom units with living rooms and kitchenettes and provide a mix of community spaces such as recreational rooms and study centers...

UC, neighbors settle student housing suit
Press-Enterprise - 21 Sep 2006
...RIVERSIDE, CA - The University of California and a group of homeowners living near UC Riverside have settled a lawsuit filed by the neighbors that challenged plans for a new student dormitory for the Riverside campus...

"We're gratified this is settled because it allows us to address the demand for more on-campus student housing as well as neighbors' requests that we reduce our reliance on off-campus student housing," said UCR spokeswoman...

ND area condos planned
Developer hopes to have first units east of campus done by next fall
Tribune - 21 Sep 2006
...SOUTH BEND, IN - "I was blown away to hear that there's nothing like that," he said. "Notre Dame has to be the only school in the country not surrounded by retail, restaurants, bars and luxury condos. I saw opportunity." ...

You might as well get a mortgage
With increasing tuition and book prices, you'd think we would avoid these places.
Minnesota Daily - 21 Sep 2006
...MINNEAPOLIS, MN -It probably would be fair to say that when most people picture student housing, they think of decrepit houses, creaking floors, crappily painted walls and corners filled with the dust of a hundred previous tenants. Those houses and apartments do exist.

Yet, another type of student housing exists, and is on the rise.

Instead of stained ceilings, there are high, trendy lofts. Instead of removable cut-out bedroom carpets, there are beautiful stained hardwood floors. Instead of the used bed you inherited from your boss for $100, there are plush beds and posh furniture provided for you. And, instead of the $350 plus utilities, you're forking over $700, sometimes $800 a month - plus underground, heated parking...

The sad part? Student luxury housing, although it's not there yet, very quickly is becoming the norm...

High-dollar renovations near completion
The Lester Group has spent $2.5 million upgrading storefronts and 11 apartments.
Times - 21 Sep 2006
...BLACKSBURG, VA - After weeks spent hidden beneath scaffolding and months tended by construction workers, a half block of College Avenue winks behind new windows and doors.

The work, part of phased renovations to several downtown buildings, includes an overhaul of upper-level apartments and improvements to storefronts that now hold Dairy Queen, the Lyric Theatre and Hanger 54.

Most construction is expected to be complete in the next month, and Lester Properties General Manager Doug Walsh said he hopes the $2.5 million face-lift will result in increased interest downtown -- both in terms of foot traffic and tenant leases...

While improvements to commercial space has been largely limited to store facades, the 11 one- and two-bedroom units above have been gutted and redesigned as upscale lofts.

Likely the most expensive rental apartments downtown, the 558- to 956-square-foot units are priced to rent for $2,000 to $3,050 a month and feature fireplaces, skylights and granite countertops...

Navigating Morgantown's Changing Dining Scene
For the most part, I see the chains as the mobile homes of the restaurant industry.
State Journal - 21 Sep 2006
...MORGANTOWN, WV - We moved to Morgantown last year from Charleston and were excited to visit all the local eateries we had heard so much about...

Univ. Blvd set for new shops
Wildcat - 21 Sep 2006
...TUCSON, AZ - In an effort to boost student clients and revenue, Main Gate Square is getting a makeover, with a slew of new stores opening within the next semester....

The recently completed section of the Marshall retail building boasts new stores that are appealing to students. With the opening of new shops and restaurants the amount of people visiting University Avenue has vividly increased...

The property challenge for students
Easier - 21 Sep 2006
...UK - Around 90% of Britain’s students will live in private rented accommodation during their time at university, which places new responsibilities on them.

As the university term begins up and down the country, the nation’s students will be enjoying the freedom of living away from their families. While many students are given a room in halls of residence for their first and sometimes subsequent years, an estimated 90% of students will live in private rented accommodation for at least part of their time at university. Finding, paying for and looking after a rented home will be vital to a successful university career.

Student numbers place pressure on housing

Huge numbers of students swell the populations of some of the UK’s university towns – for example, the students of Bangor University in Wales amount to almost 70% of the residents of the town...

New digs on campus
Robert Morris adds apartment-style living
Post-Gazette - 21 sep 2006
...PITTSBURGH, PA - On a sunny Monday morning that served up the perfect frame for a ribbon cutting al fresco, Robert Morris University officials staged a grand opening that unveiled not one, but four new ventures...

But while all three of those venues were abuzz, there was no doubt what the brightest of the four-star ceremony was meant to be: The $10 million, apartment-style Concord Hall, the newest of 12 student residence halls on the main Moon campus on University Boulevard...

Student Projections Fuel Zoning Discussion
Rocktown Weekly - 21 Sep 2006
...HARRISONBURG, VA — Planning assumptions for a new zoning classification in the city should be based on an enrollment of 22,000 students, over time, at James Madison University, said City Councilman George Pace on Wednesday during a work session of the Planning Commission.

Greater Height

The commission met in special session to discuss the development of a proposed residential classification, R-5, that would likely include residential developments catering to college students.

The classification would allow taller buildings than current zoning allows...

Indianola Residents Zoned Out
Simpson Online - 21 Sep 2006
...INDIANOLA, IA - Some Simpson students choose to live off-campus, but where they live may be affected by a new zoning law passed by the city of Indianola.

This new law, Ordinance No. 1361, concerns the number of tenants in a household and goes into effect next summer. The ordinance only allows four residents in one house who aren't related. However, the housing units, which are owned by Simpson, are not included in the zone.

City Councilman Randy Gathers said the council simply changed the definition of a family. The old ordinance stated that a family was one or more persons occupying premises, whether related by birth or marriage. As for the new ordinance, a family is one or more persons related by blood, foster family or adoption.

Hanging out in college town
Independent Mail - 20 Sep 2006
...That brings us to the reason I want to go back to college. This past weekend, I spent Friday night and all day and evening Saturday in the wonderful college town (and state capital) of Columbia. Home of the Gamecocks, Five Points and all manner of crazy college students, this was my first extended trip to the University of South Carolina and I had the perfect guide in my wife.

She was meeting some friends from her days in the school and we got the chance to see them and hang out...

College-town property rents increase
Study: Conventional apartments struggled while student housing rates climbed
Inman - 20 Sep 2006
...SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Rents at student housing properties increased during a difficult two-year period for conventional apartments, according to a new research report...

The report, which examines rent growth in 64 college towns during 2004-2006, finds that at a time when conventional apartment properties were struggling...

A room with a view of the stadium
Post-Gazette - 20 sep 2006
...USA - High-end condominium developments are springing up in many college towns, drawing die-hard football fans wanting a place to stay a short walk from the stadium of their alma mater. Buyers say the condos can be a good investment and save them the hassle of hunting a hotel room for crowded home-game weekends. They're also a place to party with fellow alumni. Although there are just a handful of home football games a year, some developments offer management and concierge services to help owners rent out the condos like hotel rooms. But in most developments it's taboo to rent to students.

"It's brutal to find a place to stay on game day in many of these college towns, and you have a lot of rabid fans out there who want to own a piece of real estate like this," says Michael McGwier, executive managing director at Trammell Crow Residential, an Atlanta firm that recently teamed up with developer Gameday Centers Southeastern LLC to market condos planned near the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tennessee and other locations...

UCR officials to meet with neighbors
Press-Enterprise - 20 sep 2006
...RIVERSIDE, CA - UC Riverside and city officials plan to meet with campus neighbors tonight to discuss concerns about noise, traffic, university growth and code enforcement on properties near the university...

UCR, which has about 17,000 students, is projected to grow to about 21,000 students by 2010. Neighbors have expressed concerns about how that growth has and would affect residential areas near the campus...

Student takes one year to complete 4-year U.Va. degree
One University of Virginia student figured out a way to save himself from the crush of student-loan debt.
Free Lance-Star - 20 Sep 2006
...CHARLOTTESVILLE, CA - David Banh, of Annandale, is the first person ever to complete U.Va.'s traditional four-year bachelor's program in a single year.

"I was impressed _ I would say amazed," said Donald Ramirez, vice chairman of the mathematics department.

Banh, who turns 19 later this month, graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria in 2005. A year and a summer later, he was a U.Va. alumnus.

Thanks to a mountain of advanced placement credits, Banh was already ahead of the game.

"I flirted with the idea back in high school, and thought I could finish college in a year and a half, in three semesters," Banh said. "But after my first semester (at U.Va.), I realized I had all this extra time, and that if I stayed for a second year I didn't have a way to pay for it without taking out loans."

So he went for it -- taking 11 classes in the spring of 2006 to complete his bachelor's in mathematics...

Streetcars a possible future transit mode for Madison
Daily Cardinal - 20 Sep 2006
...MADISON, WI - Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County’s desire for streetcars may eventually come to fruition.

The Madison Streetcar Campaign held a meeting Tuesday night to explore the possibility of streetcars in the downtown area. The campaign is a partnership between 1001 Friends of Wisconsin, Downtown Trolley and the Dane Alliance for Rail Transit—three companies concerned with Dane County’s transportation future...

Nuns sweeten deal for second-home investors
Search for sophisticated renters stepped up in college towns
Mortgage101 - 20 Sep 2006
...USA - The number of homes purchased as second residences and as rentals continues to be a greater percentage of the total housing picture. For parents of students headed off to college, back-to-school often means shopping for clothes and off-campus shelter...

If you want to invest in a college rental yet would prefer not to rent to undergrads, take a day and meet some of the department heads and other resource officials on campus. There could be a group that fills the investment property you would like to buy...

UF has social responsibility to Gainesville
Alligator - 20 Sep 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - Coming to UF has given me a new perspective on what it means to live in a "college town" - a title with deep meaning...

In Atlanta, universities regularly engage with the city in partnership programs aimed at building the city's economy. Georgia State is constantly offering classes in every area - from entrepreneurship to business counseling - to the general public. Most of these services come free of charge. Georgia Tech was the major force behind a project which turned one of Atlanta's oldest and worst slums into a thriving business and residential district.

Did any of this put money in the universities' pockets? No. At least not immediately. So why did they do it? Because they have a social responsibility to the city. Ultimately, they created an environment that was better for students, better for faculty members and better for city residents...

GMH Strategic Options Still Stuck in Limbo
GlobeSt - 20 Sep 2006
...USA - Although revenue for the quarter reached $71.5 million, up from $49.7 million in the same quarter a year ago, the investigation and special committee expense put a dent in second-quarter net income, which was a loss of $541,000 versus a gain of $826,000 in second-quarter 2005. Despite the loss, Holloway says "our underlying operating fundamentals remain strong."

In August, the student housing division acquired two 100%-leased properties and acquired 26 developable acres near Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Existing student housing properties are 94% leased for the 2006-2007 academic season. The portfolio's occupancy is expected to rise in California, where the academic year begins late...

Panel OKs UCSC growth
DESPITE CITY COUNCIL OPPOSITION, REGENTS EXPECTED TO APPROVE
Mercury News - 20 Sep 2006
...SANTA CRUZ, CA - A University of California regents panel gave the go-ahead for plans to expand the student body of the Santa Cruz campus Tuesday, paving the way to expected approval by the full board of regents later this week.

In a unanimous vote, the Committee on Grounds and Buildings certified UCSC's long-range development plan and an accompanying environmental impact report, which during the next 14 years could increase the size of the student body by 30 percent, boost building square-footage by 66 percent and add three new professional schools...

Two measures have been placed on the November ballot to halt expansion. One requires the university to pay ``the full cost'' of growth; the other blocks municipal services if growth proceeds.

``We're disappointed that they did not take seriously the constraints that we presented,'' Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Mathews said after the vote...

SDSU neighbors demand mini-dorm restrictions
Union-Tribune - 20 Sep 2006
...SAN DIEGO, CA - An overflow crowd of hundreds jammed a Rolando area auditorium to complain last night about mini-dorms – residences around SDSU packed with college students – that neighbors said produce noise, crowding, parking problems and overflowing trash.

People often jeered public officials on hand to talk about the situation and asked for stricter building codes and complained of slow police response to noise and parties...

Steps taken to rezone South U
Ordinance change would double allowable building height limits
News - 19 Sep 2006
...ANN ARBOR, MI - In a move that is expected to change the way the campus business district looks, the Ann Arbor City Council on Monday took the first step toward rezoning the South University Avenue area.

The zoning ordinance change, which will be up for a second and final vote next month, would double the allowable building height limits in that area from the current three stories. Last night's first reading was approved by a unanimous vote...

"I see more housing options that will be available along the street front,'' Easthope said. "Right now, it is just retail and restaurant dominating.''

Carlberg said developers don't want to bring in just student housing, but are looking for a mix of students and young professionals in that area...

Neighbor vs neighbor in housing debate
WDAM - 19 Sep 2006
...HATTIESBURG, MS - It was democracy at its best Monday night, when over 200 Hattiesburg residents showed up for heated discussions on an ordinance that may push many renters out of the Hub City's single-family homes.
Hattiesburg Association of Realtors voiced its concerns.

"We will not be able to absorb the student housing demand. If students cannot find housing they will go to a university where they can find housing."

But the council is under pressure from constituents to keep party houses out of their neighborhoods. Council President Carter Carroll says officials hope to carve out an ordinance before the end of the year that can please both sides...

Campus Housing Offers Three New ‘Green’ Living Options
Daily Califorrnian - 19 Sep 2006
...BERKELEY, CA - UC Berkeley is set to open one of three new green student housing options for viewing this week, giving campus community members some insight into the "green" lifestyle.

The new green room, apartment and suite, which are located in Unit 1, Channing Bowditch Apartments and Foothill respectively, are meant to show students how they can live a sustainable lifestyle by changing their habits and making environmentally friendly purchases...

All the characteristics of a big city with college town feel
news10now - 19 Sep 2006
...NEW HAVEN, CT - It's a haven for culture, history, dining and world class theatre. So what else is new? No, not New York, New Haven.

Just 90 miles from New York City, New Haven, Connecticut sprouts spires reminiscent of Prague, and sits comfortably in the shadow of a rock formation of the sleeping giant on one side and Long Island sound on another...

Council holds Urban Village kick off meeting
Collegian - 19 sep 2006
...STATE COLLEGE, PA - The State College Borough Council held a meeting last night for the first steps in the Urban Village revitalization plan.

For the first time, the consultant for the project, Delta/EDSA Inc., met with council members as well as local residents to discuss the plan for the neighborhood.

The Borough Council hopes to revitalize the Urban Village neighborhood, citing aging and deteriorating buildings as a reason for bringing change to the area...

Plans for arts neighborhood take shape
Princetonian - 16 Sep 2006
...PRINCETON, NJ - For the first time since 1918, the Dinky station will be heading south.

The catalyst for its relocation is the development of a creative and performing arts "neighborhood" along Alexander Street, a far-reaching initiative that will create a center of academics, entertainment and retail on the Borough-Township border. Billionaire philanthropist Peter Lewis '55 has already pledged $101 million for the project...

The University hopes that a more lively scene along Alexander Street will transform the unsightly area into "a neighborhood center attractive not only to students but to people attending creative and performing arts events," Hlafter said.

New restaurants and shops interspersed among the arts facilities will serve the community and students. It is hoped that the development will make students living in Forbes and the Graduate College feel a stronger connection to the campus...

Santa Cruz makes move to check growth at UC
CITY SPARKS FIGHT, PUTS MEASURES TO STALL CAMPUS ON BALLOT
Mercury News - 19 Sep 2006
...SANTA CRUZ, CA - When UC-Santa Cruz opened in 1965, it roused a sleepy little coastal burg filled with longtime residents, surfers and retirees. Formed as a cluster of colleges where students shared dorms and meals with professors, the school was hailed as an antidote to giant research-driven campuses.

And it was small -- very small.

No more. Today, with nearly 15,000 students, it's on a clear trajectory to becoming a world-class research institution.

But the feisty politicians who run Santa Cruz are digging in to fight an ambitious plan that would expand the university's size, scope and reputation...

City wants to change name of main road to college
Sun-Star - 19 Sep 2006
...TURLOCK, CA - City officials want to give the city more of a college-town feel, starting with a name change for a main road near the campus of California State University, Stanislaus.

City and university officials want to turn Monte Vista Avenue into University Avenue, an idea that has irked some business owners.

"Any university town has a University Avenue, and we don't," said university President Hamid Shirvani. "What we are really trying to do is to create a university in a city and a city in a university -- a seamless, wallless university that is part of the community."...

City says party's over after five days
BG News - 19 Sep 2006
...BOWLING GREEN, OH - Front lawns boasting beer cans, uncut grass and rat-infested couches must now be cleaned up within five days of a city notice.

That's the word from Bowling Green City Council, which ruled at its meeting last night to shorten the time between notification and action.

Previously, residents and landlords had 15 days to bag the litter and cut the grass after receiving a letter from the city...

Education Realty completes acquisition of California community
Business Journal - 19 Sep 2006
...USA - Education Realty Trust has completed the purchase of University Village Towers in Riverside, Calif., for $45 million from R.D. Olson Development.

The 218,000-square-foot, off-campus, upscale housing community was developed by Robert Olson of R.D. Olson Development.

Memphis-based Education Realty Trust purchased the building as an addition to its off-campus student community portfolio...

Rental rules stir heated debate
American - 19 Sep 2006
...HATTIESBURG, MS - property owners like Monterey Lane residents James and Janet Smith, who retired from Chicago to Hattiesburg seven years ago, said city officials need to find a balance between being a university town and retirement community.

"I'm steady picking up garbage from my neighbor's yard," James Smith said, explaining that a house full of college-age renters who live next door typify the problem being discussed.

"If Hattiesburg is trying to lure retirees, they need to do something about this," Janet Smith said. "Either Hattiesburg wants retirees or college students or they can find a way we can all live together. We loved Hattiesburg. It was such a beautiful neighborhood but now we almost wouldn't move into this neighborhood again."

A show of hands about two hours into the hearing indicated a large majority of those in attendance supported the ordinances, but it came after nearly all of the dozen or so student-age residents and some real estate professionals had left...

TU communicates behavior policy
Student Affairs responds to complaints about disruptive, disorderly neighbors
Towerlight - 19 sep 2006
...TOWSON, MD - Towson University is taking steps to communicate its new policy on disruptive and disorderly behavior to students and neighbors.

The policy allows neighbors to file complaints about Towson students living in neighborhoods around campus. The division of student affairs follows up on repeated complaints with a visit to the residence and potential sanctions.
Vice President for student affairs Deb Moriarty estimated that staffers have visited five homes since the beginning of the semester.

"We've had really positive responses," she said...

City gets set for new invasion of students
Evening Post - 19 Sep 2006
...LEEDS, UK - Leeds is bracing itself for an invasion – of thousands of students.

The city council, residents' groups and police are working with Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University to work out how best to minimise the impact of Freshers' Week.

They will be taking action on litter, street drinking and anti-social behaviour in and around Headingley.
In total, the two universities cater for 73,000 students and a large chunk of them live in the Leeds 6 suburb...

GW's Campus Plan for Dummies
Daily Colonial - 18 Sep 2006
...WASHINGTON, DC - Many people often joke that GW is as much an educational institution as it is a real estate mogul. If you’ve observed recently, you might agree. Not only has GW recently acquired several new buildings around campus, but they also own the only undeveloped land in Foggy Bottom. This land, known to many as Square 54, has sparked a passionate controversy between the University and long-time residents of Foggy Bottom...

Campus Groups Mobilize to Register 700 Students
EKU Update - 18 Sep 2006
...RICHMOND, KY - Beginning Sept. 18, National Constitution Day, students, faculty and staff will blanket EKU with opportunities to register to vote in the upcoming November election.

The project is part of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities non-partisan 32-state effort to register 40,000 college students to vote in 2006.

Members of the Student Government Association will be on hand to register voters during the student-led Constitution Day Speak Out on this afternoon until 6:30 p.m. Students, faculty and staff began to continuously read from the Constitution and Bill of Rights in front of the Powell Student Center at 11 a.m. The event will culminate in a mock protest honoring the 35th anniversary of the 26th Amendment which changed the voting age to 18. The “protesters” will then march to the Student Services Building, where attorney Jeffrey Friedman, a former elected official from Austin, Texas, will address the University and community about the significance of the young vote...

Student group seeks to refine used veggie oil for biodiesel
Project aims to have University fleet run on fuel made on campus
Daily Texan - 18 Sep 2006
...AUSTIN, TX - The french fries students eat for lunch at Jester City Limits might help fuel their trip around campus one day. That is, if the UT Biodiesel Project accomplishes its goal of creating a fuel source from the gallons of vegetable oil waste the Division of Housing and Food Service produces every year.

The final vision of the project is to convert used cooking grease into fuel for campus vehicles and to reduce or eliminate oil consumption from outside the University, said Amanda Cuellar, the project president.

"We hope to talk with all diesel-fuel vehicle operators and oil producers and eventually build a reactor,"...

Myers Park celebrates long link with campus
Queens University of Charlotte marking 150th anniversary
Observer - 18 Sep 2006
...CHARLOTTE, NC - Michael Childs has spent much of the past 35 years working to preserve the Myers Park community.

Having Queens University of Charlotte in the backyard makes it all worthwhile, Childs said Sunday afternoon, as he joined several hundred neighbors in celebrating the school's 150th anniversary.

Queens and the Myers Park Neighborhood Association commemorated their neighborly relationship on a warm late-summer afternoon, gathering for a picnic under the old oaks in front of the university campus.

"It's like an anchor, a symbol of the neighborhood's rich tradition," said Childs, a former president of the neighborhood association and a longtime community activist. "In many ways, Queens and Myers Park share the same history."

Sunday's picnic, which included live music and a barbecue luncheon, was the first in a series of events planned by Queens to get the community involved in the school's sesquicentennial...

Mini-dorms raise ire of neighbors
Union-Tribune - 18 Sep 2006
...SAN DIEGO, CA - Mini-dorms are single-family homes rented to multiple college students. The homes are often modified – such as a garage converted into a bedroom – to fit as many people as possible, and sometimes the yard is paved for parking.

“It's become a real blight on a single-family neighborhood,” said San Diego City Councilman Jim Madaffer, whose district includes the College Area surrounding SDSU. “Because they are college students, and God love them, they party.”

Madaffer is hosting a town forum tomorrow to discuss the problem and options for the city...

Kegs banned; no one happy
Beach residents fear parties
Connecticut Post - 18 Sep 2006
...FAIRFIELD, CT — Kegs have been kicked off the Fairfield University campus, in a move that pleases neither students nor year-round residents of nearby Fairfield Beach, the off-campus neighborhood where many students live.

Under the keg ban, students who live on campus complain they will be forced to spend more for beer by the can and lug multiple 30-pack cases to parties.

Year-round beach residents, meanwhile, worry it will exacerbate their ongoing battle over raucous student parties in their neighborhood.

"We can't have a keg on campus, so where are we going to have them, folks?" Paige Herman, a beach resident, said of the prospects for more keg-fueled parties at the beach. "It's disgraceful. This is not a step in the right direction."...

Keeping the peace ... and quiet
Police went on high visibility this weekend and there was no such thing as a warning
...OTTAWA, ON - While problems with noise aren't unique to any one area, the situation never seems more acute than in Sandy Hill.

A residential neighbourhood of student housing intermingled with valuable and well-maintained homes occupied by young families, professionals and retirees, the police campaigns are usually marked by plenty of complaining by students.

They argue the crackdowns are nothing more than a "cash grab" that unfairly target them. But fed-up residents say they have had enough of the constant partying, loud music and hooting and hollering that goes on into early morning hours...

GW defends growth at first zoning meeting
Daily Colonial - 18 Sep 2006
...WASHINGTON, DC - The University defended its desire to grow last Thursday before the District of Columbia’s Zoning Commission, in their first of four meetings over the next three weeks that focus on the proposed 20-year campus plan.

Representatives of the University said they their goal of increasing interdisciplinary research is constrained by the location within its confines in Foggy Bottom. They said that the average university student has 700 square feet while at GW the average student only has 300. The new growth could potentially give each student 100 more square feet.

The meeting was well attended by Foggy Bottom/ West End residents as well as roughly three dozen students, some of whom who sported pins saying “Grow UP not OUT.”...

ASU, neighbors work to resolve housing fight
Arizona Republic - 18 Sep 2006
...TEMPE, AZ - Arizona State University's rapid growth is creating friction for some surrounding communities.

The university plans to build a residential community for nearly 2,000 students on Apache Boulevard. ASU, the country's largest university, is looking to provide on-campus housing for 15,500 students by 2020.

About 70 members of the Daley Park Neighborhood Association in Tempe recently expressed concerns about the safety and traffic issues during a meeting with university and city officials...

College town
Star-Telegram - 18 Sep 2006.
...ARLINGTON, TX - A stretch of parking lots bordering the University of Texas at Arlington could be transformed into a hip residential and retail area connecting the campus to a bustling downtown, if university and city plans become reality.

The College Town development, part of a proposed update to the university's master plan, would stretch along the south side of UTA Boulevard from Cooper Street to Oak Street. Planning documents show lush, tree-lined walking paths and a narrowed UTA Boulevard to slow traffic and help storefront businesses thrive. Above the first-floor retail establishments would be offices or apartment lofts...

College town 'poverty' exposed
Low-income students help win grant money
Plain Dealer - 17 Sep 2006
...USA - The Census Bureau counts low-income college students who live off campus as poor - even if their parents pay their expenses. That describes a majority of the nation's college students who do not live in dormitories and who earn less than $9,800 from working in the summer or part time during the school year.

Whether in Berkeley, Calif., Ann Arbor, Mich., Provo, Utah, Gainesville, Fla., or Bowling Green and Columbus, Ohio, students in apartments and rented houses - the kids in college neighborhoods everywhere - are wildly inflating poverty rates.

This might merely be one for the joke books but for this: The government uses poverty figures to dole out money for anti-poverty programs. Census poverty numbers, no matter how inflated, go into the Department of Housing and Urban Development's formula for awarding Community Development Block Grants, a $3.7 billion program...

Inspections the norm elsewhere
News-Gazette - 17 Sep 2006
...URBANA, IL - The Urbana City Council is set to consider a rental registration ordinance on Oct. 2. Similar programs are well established in Bloomington-Normal.

Urbana officials say they want such a program to get an accurate contact list of landlords and agents for rental properties, to improve the city's rental housing stock and to help pay for hiring a second housing inspector and support staff...

Vision project seeks diverse input
Some fear that the city’s leaders will forgo widespread input in city planning.
Missourian - 17 Sep 2006
...COLUMBIA, MO - Columbia’s visioning project, up to this point, has primarily been handled by some of the city’s top officials: the mayor, city manager, Boone County presiding commissioner, college leaders and the superintendent of the public school district.

This has led to some concern that the vision, which is supposed to be a product of widespread community input, will be driven from the top down. But Gianni Longo of ACP Visioning and Planning, the consulting firm helping organize the visioning effort, promises that won’t be the case...

Tear Down Barriers To Downtown Revival
Courant - 17 Sep 2006
...USA - In Irvine, Calif., a great team member is the University of California, Irvine, which has provided 1,000 families the opportunity of homeownership at 60 percent of the market rate. In the three years since Rhode Island instituted its Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credit, more affordable housing has been developed than through all other existing state and federal housing programs.

More mixed-income housing is bringing downtowns back to life. Safety improves with more eyes on the street. Downtowns gain political clout as the voter base expands. It becomes easier to attract employers and retailers...

Council set to discuss condos
Herald-Sun - 16 Sep 2006
...CHAPEL HILL, NC - After going through some changes over the summer, a plan for 332 new condominium apartments and townhouses near downtown goes to the Town Council for comment Monday...

The company also described its target market for the project as varied, including "younger professionals, singles and couples, empty nesters, retirees and generally buyers who want the convenience of maintenance-free living with a close proximity to downtown Chapel Hill's amenities."

One former resident of the Town House apartments apparently was upset about the plans for her former home, and she wrote to town officials over the summer to urge them not to approve the project.

"There is no reason to build condominiums that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars which only wealthy young professionals can afford," wrote Emma Griffis, a 2003 UNC graduate. "Save this space for university students who would not be able to afford other housing, and keep our community as it is: a college town in which all are able to happily live, work and study within their means. Don't push them out."...

Morgantown living costs ‘average’ for nation
Higher than three other state communities included in the survey
Times West Virginian - 17 Sep 2006
...MORGANTOWN, WV — For upper-income professionals, Morgantown’s cost of living is only average when compared to 330 other cities across the nation, according to a recent survey by a national, nonprofit organization.

Morgantown’s composite index was 99.7. The national average composite score was 100...

“When looking at other college towns in the eastern U.S., Morgantown falls in the middle with fellow Big East towns of Cincinnati, Ohio (94.3), Louisville, Ky. (97.6), and Pittsburgh, Pa. (95.2) with total indexes slightly below Morgantown,” Higginbotham said.

Charlottesville, Va., home of the University of Virginia, had a composite index of 107.1...

Student housing may have mortgage
Tribune-Review - 17 Sep 2006
...PITTSBURG, PA - Rick Lopez was helping his son, a student at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, move into an $800-a-month Downtown studio apartment last winter when he rummaged through some real estate ads.

"When I went to Pittsburgh and started seeing the prices, I was just amazed at the affordability of the houses," said Lopez, 51, of Bakersfield, Calif.

He and his son Kris looked around at houses. On the plane ride home, Lopez made an offer on a house in Brookline. He bought it for $56,500...

doug Kaplan: It's time to reaffirm commitment to UC
Sentinal - 17 Sep 2006
...SANTA CRUZ, CA - The following column by Doug Kaplan appeared in the Sentinel Sept. 12, 1999, just after the city of Santa Cruz threatened to sue the University of California over the construction of a new parking garage on the UCSC campus. The Sentinel is reprinting it in response to the recent decision by the Santa Cruz City Council to place on the November ballot a pair of initiatives that would impact campus expansion and the decision by the university to respond with a lawsuit.

Let's take off our provincial hats for a moment and pretend that we are a UC regent, a state legislator or a California taxpayer. The time is the late 1950s. We know we need to build at least three new university campuses for the state's baby boomers and their offspring. One of the new campuses will be in the south Central Coastal Region, comprising counties from San Mateo and Santa Clara on the north, to Monterey and San Benito on the south. Who would like us to build a university in their community, we ask...

mike Rotkin: UC growth needs 'serious' planning
Sentinal - 17 Sep 2006
...SANTA CRUZ, CA - In a recent issue of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, there was an op-ed piece by the new interim UCSC chancellor, George Blumenthal, and an editorial, both of which attempt to argue that UCSC must serve a larger constituency than the city of Santa Cruz and, therefore, campus growth cannot be limited by the concerns of the local community.

Both pieces miss the essential point that the city is not challenging UCSC's right to grow, but only the right to grow without adequate mitigation of the impacts of that growth. Neither the campus Long-Range Development Plan LRDP nor that environmental impact report EIR required to accompany the LRDP begin to adequately address the impacts of proposed growth. And while the campus decision to reduce their growth target for the next 20 years from 21,000 students to 19,500 students is certainly a move in the right direction, the final EIR still does not address the impacts of projected growth on the local community even with the new lower-growth target...

Panhandling: Businesses beg for limits
Downtown Athens
Banner-Herald - 17 Sep 2006
...ATHENS, GA - After years of talk, downtown Athens business owners appear to be getting serious about curbing panhandling, but they'll have to tread carefully across an issue that's rife with political, legal and social complications.

Downtown officials say they are starting a conversation that is likely to eventually lead to new restrictions or an outright ban on panhandling downtown, similar to recent measures in Atlanta, Augusta and Macon...

About half of the 475 homeless people Mills counted in Athens in January said they had a substance abuse problem, and a quarter are mentally ill, Mills said. About half also have jobs, he said.

"People don't know that the guy changing your oil or the woman behind the counter at Kroger are homeless as well,"...

here have been problems between students and home owners in the past, but things seemed to calm down. Then two weekends ago, several separate parties on Mckoon drawing hundreds of students upset some neighbors who called the police.

Residents Say They've Had it With Out-of-Control College Parties
WIBV - 17 Sep 2006
...NIAGRA, NY - Neighbors complained about loud noise, underage drinking, public urination, and other lewd acts. Vincent Anello, Mayor Niagara Falls: "Unfortunately this year we're back to the same old story and from our end of it it's a question of public safety as well as quality of life."

Vonda Merrell has a 6 year old daughter and says she just wants the students to respect their neighbors. Vonda Merrell: "They're nice kids and everything but sometimes they can keep you up late at night if youre trying to go to sleep on the weekends, but other than that theyre nice."...

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