Beware rental ghettos
Virginia Gazette - 30 Apr 2008
... WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Williamsburg sails into uncharted waters in the City Council election May 6. As many as 1,500 newly registered voters will begin to assert themselves. In the words of student candidate Matt Beato, “with 1,500 votes we can do anything we want in the city.”

Their main concerns, as conveyed by the Flat Hat and other student media, focus on the city’s three-unrelated-renters rule and deed restrictions requiring owner occupancy of certain properties, stipulations interpreted by student renters as aimed primarily at them ...

Boston Squeezed as Colleges and Universities Expand
Architectural Record - 29 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - Columbia University, New York University, and other schools are planting ever larger footprints throughout Manhattan. But the Big Apple has plenty of company in managing tensions between academic institutions and their urban neighbors. Boston, the quintessential college town, is in for major changes as its schools accelerate their building programs. Although local officials generally welcome such projects, some plans are testing town-gown relationships ...

Students, retirees, alumni contribute to high housing prices
Daily Mississippian - 29 apr 2008
... OXFORD, MS - "Oxford, with its beauty, low crime rate and charm, draws people who are tired of the high crime rates, etc., of the bigger cities," he said. "It's the basic supply and demand. The demand is high, so the prices are also."

With help from the University of Mississippi, the city might also be growing at too high a rate to adequately mitigate these concerns. The University U.K. research group calls this effect "studentification," or the growth and replacement of original social and cultural communities with that of students. This often results in property value inflation, a decrease in owner-occupied homes and drastic changes in neighborhoods overall.

"There are more houses available now, but they are just the wrong kind of houses," said Beth Dorris, a senior library assistant at the University of Mississippi's J.D. Williams Library. "They are too expensive. It's also harder to get a loan now than it was a few years ago." ...

Brackenridge Tract will head to the drawing boards
New York design firm to create master plans for redevelopment
Daily Texan - 29 Apr 2008
... AUSTIN, TX - The UT System signed a contract with New York architecture and design firm Cooper, Robertson & Partners to provide master planning services for the UT-owned Brackenridge Tract.

The UT System Board of Regents unanimously approved a motion in March selecting the firm as the master planner for the redevelopment of the 345-acre tract. In December, board members voted to select an outside firm to design the property located near the banks of Lady Bird Lake, west of MoPac Boulevard ...

All change at the Triangle
Evening Gazette - 29 Apr 2008
... STOCKTON, UK - “The proposals seek consent for commercial uses to the ground floor with student accommodation above.

“We feel that the site is ideally located within walking distance of the town centre, the university and Thornaby train station and the proposal represents a great opportunity to kick-start the regeneration of the Mandale triangle area ...

Final advice: Try the Beacon
Daily Mississippian - 28 Apr 2008
... OXFORD, MS - Along with the changes to our university, Oxford is slowly, but rather steadily, becoming a cookie-cutter college town. Increasing insurance rates and liability risks have killed far too many of the uniquely Oxonian establishments and allowed bland chain businesses and overpriced condominiums to fill in the unused space. While it is true that the market forces at hand dictate such changes, we are not completely out of control.

The Beacon is uniquely Oxonian and does an excellent job of reminding its patrons of places such as the Gin, the Hoka and a multitude of other establishments that made Oxford what it was. Keeping this memory of the Oxford of the past in mind, we can be more careful as to what we allow it to become in the years to come ...

Two Approaches to Campus Expansion
Harvard Crimson - 28 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - When Boston College submitted a bid to purchase a state-owned pumping station near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, the college’s vice president for government and community relations, Thomas J. Keady, said that his institution informed the community before the story hit the presses. Although BC eventually lost the bid, Keady said that it was important to keep the college’s neighbors abreast of its activities.

“There’s a sense of trust you must develop as an institution,” he said. “With a community, you have to let them know what you’re doing.”

BC’s policy of open disclosure stands in stark contrast to what Allston residents say is Harvard’s aloof approach to dealing with the community as the University expands in their neighborhood.

“I think the community often sees Harvard as that 500-pound gorilla with no feelings whereas BC has that more personal touch to them,” said John Bruno, who sits on both the BC and Harvard community task forces ...

300-foot rule might be evicted from Duluth
News Tribune - 28 Apr 2008
... DULUTH, MN - The hotly debated Duluth law banning new rentals within 300 feet of existing ones could be eliminated, if not tonight, then in the next few months.

The ordinance is the latest chapter in a dispute that began in the early part of this decade over what to do about the transformation of many family homes into rentals filled with college students. The rule is geared at neighborhoods near the University of Minnesota Duluth and College of St. Scholastica ...

Painting town orange and black
Princeton parties at Communiversity festival
Times - 27 Apr 2008
... PRINCETON BOROUGH, NJ - Soundstages, hot dog stands and artists selling everything from marionettes to Moroccan jewelry transformed downtown Princeton into a carnival atmosphere yesterday for the annual Communiversity Festival of the Arts.

Sponsored by the Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton University, the town and gown event stretched from Palmer Square and Nassau Street to the trim green lawn in front of Nassau Hall. The festival featured an open-air market, live music and dance performances, children's activities, and representatives from a variety of local and student organizations ...

Recycling becomes big part of moving season U-M students donate what they don't want to haul
News - 27 Apr 2008
... ANN ARBOR, MI - When most of the University of Michigan's 41,000 students take off for the summer this week, they'll leave behind tons of stuff that will be trash-picked by the public or sorted and sent to local charities.

As he waited outside his dorm Wednesday for a shuttle to the airport, U-M freshman Alex Rosenthal was able to travel lightly because he'd shipped a few boxes home to Philadelphia. He also left some things at the fraternity house he'll move into next fall.

And the rest, he either packed or recycled ...

Can occupancy rule stop students from doubling up?
Globe - 27 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - It's been more than a month since city officials unanimously passed a zoning ordinance that makes it illegal for more than four undergraduate college students to live together in a leased apartment.

While the new law has created uncertainty among property owners and real estate agents, some would-be tenants, like Suffolk University junior Ben James, are considering their options.

For James, the plan for next year appears clear. That's because the 20-year-old English and philosophy major has kept his name off the current lease by sharing a room with a friend from school, which leaves four students registered as residents in his section of a three-family home in Allston ...

As BU grows, developers eager to fill housing needs
About 400 apartments at two off-campus sites meet with opposition
Press & Sun-Bullitin - 27 Apr 2008
... BINGHAMTON, NY - There's no arguing with the numbers: Binghamton University is growing.

And with that growth comes the need for more student housing. That's where the argument begins.

Who should build it and potentially profit from it?

Where should it be built?

City Council actions fluster neighborhood
Spectator - 27 Apr 2008
... SEATTLE, WA - Since March, two developers have presented plans to build housing close to the campus ...

As Seattle University students deal with the sometimes frustrating effects of top-down planning, as seen in rising educational finances, the move to Division I Athletics and the relocation of student housing, the surrounding community also deals with similar results of administrative planning.

Yet in the same way that students have made their voices heard through movements such as the Ban the Bottle campaign and the recent protests around campus, local community members have taken the initiative to wrestle control from the City Council back to neighborhood organizations.

Bleary-eyed members of neighborhoods across the greater Seattle area, who looked not much different than tired college students, met at City Hall last Saturday to discuss their grievances and what community leaders can do to address them. But for these concerned citizens, the name of the town from which they hailed mattered more than their individual names as they stood to present their issues to a panel of neighborhood planners ...

Neighbors state complaints about Hill Place project
Times - 27 Apr 2008
... FAYETTEVILLE, AR - He is concerned that allowing the student housing will "open the floodgates"to apartments throughout the area so that in a few years it will look like the north side of the University of Arkansas where block after block of what used to be single family homes are now apartment buildings.

"I know this is going to revitalize south Fayetteville, but in all honesty, I don't know what was wrong with south Fayetteville to begin with," Williams, a South Fayetteville resident himself, said.

"They're going to do what they want to do over there, whether we like it or not," Hoodenpyle said. "We'll just have to wait and see if they're honorable or if they're not honorable." ...

College students honored for helping nonprofits
Observer-Dispatch - 26 Apr 2008
... UTICA, NY — Local college students celebrated their volunteer efforts Saturday at the Parkway Recreation Center during a recognition party.

Mayor David Roefaro and The Genesis Group sponsored the event to honor students who've helped nonprofit agencies in the city. The students' photographs and stories were on display as people mingled, ate lunch and listened to live entertainment.

Ralph Eannace, chairman of Genesis' College Town Project, said area students have long participated in urban service projects ...

Wickenden thrives on eclectic mix
Business News - 28 Apr 2008
... PROVIDENCE, RI - Wickenden Street isn’t alone as a retail center on the East Side – it is overshadowed by Thayer Street, which long had been the jewel of trendy, small Providence shops, said Williamson. Thayer Street’s proximity to the R.I. School of Design and Brown University campuses give it a leg-up on Wickenden Street, but rising storefront rental costs there are making Wickenden Street look more attractive to small businesses.

For that reason, it could be said that Wickenden Street’s retail is where Thayer Street’s retail was about 10 years ago, Williamson said. “A lot of the smaller and artsy places that would have been in [the] Thayer Street location in past years are now opening on Wickenden because Thayer has become more corporate and expensive ...

May we tempt you?
Mail - 26 Apr 2008
... OXFORD, UK - Throughout the late 80s and 90s, the smartest kids in town headed to the Oxford May Ball - a sumptuous feast of music, live entertainment and the odd cocktail, staged under canvas.

Open to all, it was a democratic version of the exclusive student bashes which have been going on behind college walls, out of the reach of ordinary townsfolk, for centuries.

Initially, a black tie event, the May Day Ball grew each year, moving first to Shotover, then Milton Common, where it mushroomed into a 'super club' style night with 15,000 revellers ...

Suffolk sell-off eyed
Developer: Relocate out of Beacon Hill
Herald - 26 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - As Suffolk University looks to build a new downtown campus away from its long-time Beacon Hill home, some are urging the school to consider selling off its valuable real estate holdings in the historic neighorhood.

Hub developer John Ryan is lobbying the university to cash in on its valuable Beacon Hill properties and build a new campus core near Government Center.

Ryan, who put together the land on which the Federal Reserve tower and part of the Hancock complex was built, argues Suffolk could make a fortune - as much as $150 million - selling off its Beacon Hill real estate ...

Two by two, cycles multiply in, around Oberlin
Plain Dealer - 26 Apr 2008
... OBERLIN, OH - The downtown streets and campus walkways of this pastoral college town buzz with bikes.

And for every bicycle moving at any given moment, there are 10 more at rest: Slightly locked bikes colonizing like mussels on bike racks, benches, street signs and parking meters, or simply flopped on green lawns.

Everyone here, it seems, owns a bike ...

Program mandates rental property upkeep
Under Radford's pilot program, rental units in a designated area can be inspected in an effort to encourage landlords to maintain their property.
Times - 26 Apr 2008
... RADFORD, VA - Under the pilot, which was started in January, 260 units on Clement Street on the east of the university, Fairfax Street on the university's west side and P.T. Travis Avenue on the city's west side can be inspected.

As of April 23, 21 of those had been checked ...

During the pilot, landlords won't see any repercussions for the safety problems at their properties. According to the draft ordinance, drawn heavily from a similar program in Blacksburg, an inspector must make more than one visit before levying a fine ...

He cited Stadium Club, University Corners and the delayed downtown condominium project Gainesville Greens as evidence the city has approved risky development.

Stunted development
Sun - 26 Apr 2008
... GAINESVILLE, FL - "These are major fiscal disasters, major mistakes," Goldstein said.

Stadium Club backers say they're confident the project will be built without major changes. The project is planned to have retail space and 24 luxury condominiums that include a penthouse costing nearly $2 million.

The development is aimed at Bull Gators and other wealthy individuals looking for places near the stadium and the O'Connell Center ...

Show me the city: Saturday's Schenectady sampler a good deal for students
Union College Chronicle - 25 Apr 2008
... SCHENECTADY, NY - Steve Walker '08 wanted to change some misperceptions Union students harbored about Schenectady. He hoped to persuade more of his classmates to venture downtown. Ultimately, he wants to boost the social and economic fortunes of a city that has seen its share of tough times.

The plan gets its first test Saturday, April 26, when local restaurants, shops and cultural attractions host “Show Me Schenectady,” a chance for students to sample city life.

It’s the first major event organized by the Union-Schenectady Alliance, created by Walker and Josh DeBartolo '08 to improve relationships between the College and the city ...

Got junk? Give it to PennMoves
Daily Pennsylvanian - 25 Apr 2008
... PHILADELPHIA, PA - Thanks to a new program by Housing and Conference Services, throwing out unwanted items at the end of the school year has never felt better.

In an effort to promote environmental and social responsibility, HCS will be collecting students' old clothes and appliances and donating them to charity during the move-out period.

The new program, called PennMoves, will collect "used but still usable" items that will then be distributed among 15 different charity organizations in the West Philadelphia area ...

For some, six-figure condos better than dorms
Free Press - 25 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - Basic residence fees at Boston University are set at $7,420 for next year, but for some students, Fox Development's six-figure condominiums might be the right price.

Developer Robert Fox said the condos in his recently completed five-story, 18-unit complex on Park Drive are a viable housing option for some, even though the offering price runs from $239,000 to $349,000.

"If you are just paying rent for a dorm, you don't get anything out of it, ...

American Campus to develop [2000 bed] housing project for Boise State
Forbes - 25 apr 2008
... BOISE, ID - American Campus Communities Inc., which develops and operates student housing facilities, said Friday it will develop a student housing project for Boise State University.

As part of the deal, American Campus will invest equity to own on-campus housing through a long-term ground lease. The agreement allows Boise State to increase its available housing while holding onto credit for academic and research facilities.

The project, which may house about 2,000 beds, will be located on Boise State's main campus ...

Town of Middlebury to vote on local option tax next month
Herald - 25 Apr 2008
... MIDDLEBURY, VT — the tax will require no new bureaucratic infrastructure for the town because it is collected by the state and then returned to the town, minus roughly 30 percent for the PILOT program, which makes payments to towns in lieu of property taxes for state facilities located in those towns.

Town officials have said the tax is designed to pay for a 30-year bond on the $16 million Cross Street Bridge project. Middlebury College has pledged half the project's cost and estimated revenues for the tax exceeded $700,000 per year, enough for the other half ...

Friends don't let friends pass out by roads
Red & Black - 25 Apr 2008
... ATHENS, GA - Apparently Section II, Article 5 of the cab driver manual says "Leave drunken girls in fluffy piles of leaves on the sides of roads to regain consciousness."

Alarmed by his solution, I got my girlfriends to help me put "Miss Wasted Face 2007" in the back of my car.

Once in my car, I had to figure out what I was going to do with her and her bloody elbows and knees. After struggling to speak the native tongue from the country of "I don't even know my own name so I definitely don't know where I live," I realized why the cab driver gave up.

Eventually my friends and I managed to decipher the name of a sorority house. Once at the house I had to awkwardly knock on the door and hoped someone would come and claim their prize. I now know how Ed McMahon felt ...

20 years and no commercials
Tiny (but growing), student-run WRFL celebrates two decades of unleashing music found nowhere else on Lexington’s radio dial
LexGo - 24 Apr 2008
... LEXINGTON, KY - It was a sound that Kakie Urch thought she had forgotten, or at least had escaped. But as she drove back into Lexington last weekend, there it was again ...

This weekend, along with reuniting with some 60 or so alumni WRFL staff members, Urch will team with the station’s current student staff to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The main party is a free and public bash called the FreeKY Fest that will be atop the Downtown Transit Center on Saturday.

“This event is for everyone,” WRFL general manager Chuck Clenney said. “We’ve always wanted to educate people about awesome music that homogenous, corporate radio stations can’t provide. So we have been given a rare opportunity not only to educate people about music that would otherwise fall under the radar but to celebrate the fact that we’ve been on the air since 1988 for 365 days a year, 24/7. That’s a huge feat in itself.” ...

[Editor's Note: Radio over the Web, what could be better for getting a feel for another aspect of college towns.? Listen to WRFL online.]

Investing in single-family housing worth the costs
Daily Cardinal - 24 Apr 2008
... MADISON, WI - Increased student demand for high rise apartments creates housing vacancy, need to convert houses into single-family homes.

The face of Madison has changed frequently over the past few years with the addition of numerous high rise apartments. The recent reconstruction of University Square makes many wonder when it will stop, but, as much as it pains me to say it, this is actually good for the housing market in Madison.

By investing millions of dollars on a ridiculously high-rent apartment complex, Steve Brown knew what he was doing. As UW-Madison students come from increasingly high-income households—the median annual family income is now about $90,000, according to a 2007 Wisconsin State Journal article—buildings like Lucky and the Aberdeen will continue to fill up fast.

Say what you will about less-advantaged students being squeezed out of UW-Madison (they are), the facts are clear—as more students are willing to pay for this type of housing, more of it is bound to spring up. But what effect does this market shift have on the cheaper housing further off campus, such as the Bassett and Vilas neighborhoods?

As anyone who has lived in one of these houses can attest, they fall to shit. Of course, landlords have been hoodwinking poor college students into renting these apartments for years, knowing they can exploit the high turnover rate for financial gain. Combine this with a market shifting toward higher rents and we see a growing number of vacancies, which lead landlords to invest even less money in repairs.

All signs point to deteriorating neighborhoods on the outskirts of campus. Soon the city must choose between a hands-off approach and an intervention ...

Council favours purpose built student accomodation
City authorities drive business towards corporate landlords as students pushed out by HMO restrictions
Journal - 24 Apr 2008
... SCOTLAND - Students may be forced to turn to expensive purpose built accommodation rather than renting normal residential flats, if current plans to further restrict HMO licenses go forward.

The Scottish Executive’s ‘Planning For Housing Consultation’ suggests: "Where such a policy does not already exist, and where it is considered appropriate, local authorities should develop policies relating to the maximum proportion of HMOs that should exist in any defined area."

Comments by Alan Henderson, the council’s head of planning, have lead to concerns that the Council is turning to accommodation offered by companies such as UNITE to help solve the conflict between demand for student accommodation and community opposition to students.

Mr Henderson told The Scotsman that "The provision of purpose built student accommodation is considered more beneficial to local residential amenity than the use of existing residential accommodation for such purposes." ...

Guest Blogger: Syracuse U. Helps Create Vibrant Public Spaces Downtown
The Chronicle - 24 Apr 2008
... SYRACUSE, NY - When I was a student at Syracuse University, the institution seemed aloof and distant from the city that gave it its name. The topographic split between the hilltop university and the city below reinforced both the distance and the socio-cultural barrier. I rarely ventured downtown.

Last week, I experienced many welcome surprises when I returned to my undergraduate alma mater after 21 years. While its building is being renovated, the university’s School of Architecture has temporarily moved into a building known as “The Warehouse.” It’s one of many buildings that are a part of a rebirth in downtown Syracuse ...

Fargo looking at NDSU rezoning
The Forum -24 Apr2008
... FARGO, ND - Fargo wants to encourage new student housing and businesses in place of the dilapidated rentals near North Dakota State University.

The mixed-use zoning district under consideration would allow larger buildings placed more closely together than currently allowed. It would be focused on housing but also allow retail, offices and other uses that are compatible with the university.

City planners hope to encourage higher-quality development and more housing for students who want to live near NDSU ...

College’s Historic Farm Houses Find New Homes Off-Campus
Amherst Student - 24 Apr 2008
... AMHERST, MA - It’s not often that you witness a house getting hauled across campus, much less two. Yet that’s what happened last week, when two college-owned residences were moved off campus after their sale to Hills House LLC. Potvine Farm House, formerly located at 23 Spring Street, and Tuttle Farm House, formerly located east of the campus on South East Street, were moved to a developer’s lot on Gray Street in Amherst. There, they will be restored and renovated for domestic use by Hills House LLC, a local property developer that specializes in buying, renovating and selling historic homes.

Tuttle Farm House was moved in two pieces on April 17 and the Potvine house was relocated on April 19. Both relocation processes diverted traffic, as the houses, perched on trucks, moved slowly and took over Amherst streets.

According to Director of Facilities Jim Brassord, the decision to move the houses was made by both the College Administration and the Board of Trustees. The Potvine house, prior to its removal, was located adjacent to the Lord Jeffery Inn. The College has plans to expand the inn?"plans that would have been stymied by the presence of the Potvine house.

Tuttle Farm House’s situation was a bit different. According to Brassord, “[Tuttle Farm House] had taken to disrepair and was infeasible for the College to use.” Rather than demolish the house, which was located off of the bike path beyond the Bird Sanctuary, the College negotiated with Hills House LLC, agreeing to foot the bill for the moves. Brassord lauded the arrangement. “Why it works well is because we are able to preserve rather than demolish. We are pleased that this worked out in the College’s favor,” ...

Landlords challenge undergrad zoning law
Daily Free Press - 24 Apr 2008
... BOSTON, MA - On March 13, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino signed off on an amendment to the city zoning code, making it illegal for more than four full-time undergraduate students to rent an apartment together.

The amendment, unanimously approved by the City Council in December and approved by the Zoning Commission March 12, immediately went into effect. With the flick of a pen, pre-existing living arrangements across the city were made illegal.

The position landlords were put in because of the undergraduate renter cap is part of the reason four Boston landlords and a Boston College student are challenging the zoning amendment in state Land Court, said attorney Stephen Greenbaum.

Landlords Mark Rosenberg, Lazarus Pavlidis, Anthony Dimeo and Lloyd Rosenthal and BC sophomore Jessica Luccio filed a complaint against the city of Boston and the city Zoning Commission April 8, Greenbaum said ...

"Show Me Schenectady" to give students a sample of downtown life Saturday
Union College News - 23 Apr 2008
... SCHENECTADY, NY - Steve Walker '08 had a simple plan. He wanted to alter the misperceptions some Union students harbored about Schenectady. He hoped to persuade more students to venture downtown. Ultimately, he wants to boost the social and economic fortunes of a city that has seen its share of tough times.

The plan gets its first test Saturday, April 26, when local restaurants, shops and cultural attractions host “Show Me Schenectady,” a daylong event for students to sample city life.

It’s the first major event organized by the Union-Schenectady Alliance, a group created by Walker and Josh DeBartolo '08 to improve relationships between the College and the city ...

University housing gets go ahead
Free Press - 23 Apr 2008
... BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UK - TONIGHT Wycombe District Council gave the go ahead to plans for a new student village to be built in town.

The proposals, which have conditional permission, mean that Buckinghamshire New University can build 672 rooms at the former CompAir site in Hughenden Avenue ...

American Campus nets $252M from stock offer
Business Journal - 23 Apr 2008
... USA - American Campus Communities Inc. raised more than $250 million through its stock offering this week.

The Austin-based developer, owner and manager of student housing properties issued a total of 9.2 million shares of its stock, which included 1.2 million as part of an over-allotment option ...

21-drink ritual entices, endangers
Orion - 23 Apr 2008
... USA - Senior A... B... and her friends have an unwritten rule: You can't refuse a drink on your 21st birthday, even if it means attempting to have 21 shots in a few hours ...

A new study from researchers at the University of Missouri, thought to be the largest insight into the ritual, reports young adults aren't just drinking to celebrate, but they're drinking to extremes.

"We knew there were students who probably attempted 21 on 21, but we were really shocked by the numbers who really do," ...

Out of 2,518 students studied, about 34 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women reported consuming 21 drinks or more ...

‘Homeless night’ can change with tenant action
Badger Herald - 23 Apr 2008
... MADISON, WI - There is another aspect of the move-in process the city of Madison has yet to really address, and that is “Homeless Night.”

Some time ago, landlords throughout the Madison area banded together to begin leases Aug. 15 and end them the next year on Aug. 14. Sure, you are living in your residence for exactly one year, but you cannot move into your next place until Aug. 15. Where do you go for this night when you are living at neither your new residence nor your old one? Students can opt to rent a hotel room if they have the means to do so, stay with an obscure relative in town, or do what many have done in the past — sleep in their cars ...

Council backs eco-friendly building
Diamondback - 23 Apr 2008
... COLLEGE PARK, MD - College Park officials and developers seem to have reached a compromise in a debate over whether College Park can sacrifice its traditional architecture in favor of "green" building.

The College Park City Council last night informally supported updated plans for the StarView project - the 500-plus bed residential-over-retail building set to open in December 2009 - that developers wanted to make contemporary and eco-friendly. But the project is at odds with the Route 1 Sector Plan, which calls for building façades to be majority brick in order to maintain a traditional appearance ...

Editorial: Digging the square
Tribune - 23 Apr 2008
... WACO, TX - Before the ALICO building went up — 22 stories in 1911, builders first went down, 40 feet into the bedrock to supply lasting stability with its foundation.

Construction going on now next door at Heritage Square won’t be as towering, but it will have similar impact. Last week, builders of Austin Flat were drilling 131 40-feet-deep holes for piers to support the slab for the condominium development.

The residents to come will supply the life that sustains the services and amenities of a robust downtown.

A few yards away a 368-bed student housing complex is soon to take shape.

That will add to the demand for what vibrant downtowns provide. The square development unto itself will do some of those things. It’s a historic turn for a downtown that’s been aching for the turning of earth for more than a generation.

In other words, finally it’s downtown Waco’s turn to prosper.

Anger over ‘unfair’ ClubEasy deal
The Linc - 23 Apr 2008
... LINCOLN, UK - The University and local letting companies have attacked the Students’ Union’s ‘special relationship’ with student housing giants ClubEasy, calling it ‘unfair.’

The SU signed a sponsorship deal with ClubEasy this year worth around £40,000 which included 1,800 t-shirts, hoodies and training tops for AU clubs and societies, all with the housing company’s logo on the back. The deal also includes full page adverts in Bullet Magazine, a banner advert on the SU website, leaflet drops and stalls at the Freshers’ Fayre.

As a result, other student housing companies in Lincoln are not happy. They say that this deal with the SU means that they’re not getting a look in when it comes to promoting themselves to students ...

Maybe It's Just Me: Wal-Mart ‘answer for the broke college student’
[Humor: Retail giant should expand to offer low-priced student housing]
Post - 23 Apr 2008
... ATHENS, OH - However, even with its sometimes shoddy merchandise, Wal-Mart is the answer for the broke college student. I’m all about supporting local businesses, and I understand that Wal-Mart has been at fault for the demise of local businesses around the country. Some businesses just cannot compete with Wal-Mart’s dangerously low prices. However, sometimes I wish Wal-Mart sold textbooks so I could skip the total rip-off I’m guaranteed to get from the bookstores on Court Street. Some “local businesses” set out to screw students over anyway. Think about the housing in Athens. There is no reason four people in an apartment should be paying $400 a month apiece. That landlord is raking in $1,600 a month per apartment! This isn’t a high-rise in New York City; this is a college town. Maybe Wal-Mart will start selling rooms. It’s open 24 hours a day, so why not? ...

New restaurant offers gyros on menu
Royal Purple - 23 Apr 2008
... WHITEWATER, WI - A new restaurant, Café Pueblo Pedro, is open in Whitewater and has been steadily attracting customers during the last two months.

"I started to be open only in the day, but when we started closing late we started to get better business," Pablo Dalatorre, restaurant owner, said. "For college students, after they go to the bar if they want something to eat they can come here." ...

Ordinance remains a sticking point
Journal - 23 Apr 2008
... SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — To full-time residents, the numbers presented at last night’s Narragansett/URI Coalition meeting showed that tougher enforcement against partying students is working.

Among the figures: There have been 223 fewer noise complaints this school year compared to last year at this time, and there have been fewer repeat offenses at houses with orange nuisance stickers, according to police figures.

But to University of Rhode Island students, the numbers showed something else: tougher enforcement of a policy that unfairly targets students and was adopted without their input....

How to find shelter
Shannon á Bordeaux
Kings Record - 22 Apr 2008
... BORDEAUX, FR - Bordeaux is a university town. L'Université de Bordeaux is spread out all over the city with four different campuses. Unfortunately for me, I arrived about a month after classes began so all the good apartments were taken. It was slim pickings when it came to finding a place to live ...

Rental education benefits students
Daily Cardinal - 22 Apr 2008
... MADISON, WI - The Student Tenant Union’s Tenant Education Week serves the student body in a necessary way. Most students who live in non-university housing do not have complete knowledge of renting properties in Madison. The rules of rental properties are complicated and nuanced, and this week can properly educate those who participate. Many students who rush to sign leases early in the school year, or those seeking a sublettor for the summer, are getting involved in legally binding contracts without knowing the consequences of all the small print ...

NOISE COMPLAINT
Diamondback - 22 Apr 2008
... COLLEGE PARK, MD - The eight tenants of 4805 College Ave. love living in an off-campus house, which they use to host weekend barbecues, Wiffle ball tournaments and the occasional late-night party. Their neighbors, however, aren't as excited.

The university's housing crisis forced the tenants of 4805 to move from traditional, on-campus student housing to a block of mostly permanent residents. At the same time, College Park City Council members are aiming to crack down on noise violators, which leaves students living in traditionally non-student neighborhoods stuck between a rock and a quiet place ...

Excitment Builds for UM-Flint Student Housing
WJRT - 21 apr 2008
... FLINT, MI - As classes wind down at the University of Michigan-Flint, excitement is building up about the first student housing complex that opens to students in the fall.

Monday afternoon, the university flag was raised over the building, signaling the end of outside construction.

Within just a few hundred steps, you will have 300 students living in the dorms, walking to classrooms on campus or hanging out outside at places like Wilson Park, or just beyond the park to Flint's downtown businesses ...

New Housing Could Hurt Madison Landlords
WEAU - 21 Apr 2008
... MADISON, WI - Some Madison officials warn new student apartments around the University of Wisconsin have the potential to create a new housing spiral in neighborhoods left behind.

City building inspector George Hank says that as students leave for newer properties, some landlords won't be able to have the cash flow to maintain the buildings.

Leaders from neighborhoods, the university, nearby hospitals and others are seeking a $50,000 city grant to help plan preservation of the older structures possibly by converting them to owner-occupied housing for young families and workers.

The city wants to prevent neighborhoods from decaying and employers want to help workers find affordable housing near their jobs ...

Universities and the local economy Video
WHEC - 21 Apr 2008
... ROCHESTER, NY - Each year three billion dollars go into our economy just from RIT and the U of R. And both schools are investing about $500 million dollars into new buildings and businesses. They are the major economic drivers in this area.

So far none of those projects are coming specifically to downtown Rochester ...

Lust for Power
The Roseline ready themselves for the Big Time, Lamborghinis
Lawrence.com - 21 Apr 2008
... LAWRENCE, KS - After a decade in Lawrence, The Roseline have found a way to take the change inherent in a revolving-door college town and make it work to their advantage. Lineup changes, marriages, financial stress, and a little bit of old-fashioned libido might sound like ingredients for some pretty angsty listening, but instead the Lawrence band washes it all down with a sweet slide guitar and a hook—no screams here ...

Windsor Heights ordinance would limit occupancy
Register - 21 Apr 2008
WINDSOR HEIGHTS, IA - There are no rowdy college students. There are no empty beer cans, boxes or kegs littering the yards. There are no late-night parties, no loud music, no couches on the lawns.

Windsor Heights is not a college town, but the Des Moines suburb is on the verge of taking a college-town approach toward the kinds of problems typically associated with rental properties occupied by college students.

The suburb is considering an occupancy ordinance that would limit the number of unrelated people allowed to live in a single-family home ...

Blackballing Hollywood
The story of a van...a group of guys...a lot of sandwiches...and a plan...
Tribune -20 Apr 2008
... COLUMBIA, MO - At the ripe old age of 19, local filmmaker Todd Sklar decided to beat Orson Welles’ record of making a full-length film by age 26. He did that this spring with “Box Elder” and has set out to break down Hollywood’s last hold on the movie business: distribution.

After a more-than-two-week run at Ragtag Cinema that grossed more than $12,000, Sklar, 24, hit the road on a 41-city tour with his film in mid-March on a grass-roots guerrilla marketing mission ...

Tough times breed tough towns
Seattle Times - 20 Apr 2008
... USA - I'm not claiming my hometown — Yellow Springs, Ohio, pop. 3,600 — is blue-collar central. Far from it. It's a hippie college town (at least for now, as the college also appears to be closing). If they're clinging to anything to sustain them in tough times, it's more likely yoga mats or vegan diets than God or guns.

I bring it up because small towns again are in the national spotlight. And again being trivialized, stereotyped and misunderstood.

It's a quadrennial ritual. Presidential candidates parachute in and behave as if they're on a movie set. They pretend to be duck hunters or bowlers or cow milkers. Photo op completed, they leave and don't return, like salmon, for precisely a four-year interval ...

Downtown development coming to fruition after years of work
Tribune-Herald - 20 Apr 2008
... WACO, TX - It’s an apt symbol for downtown’s redevelopment, which has been years in the making but is only now beginning to bloom. Tens of millions of dollars in new businesses, construction projects and building renovations are already under way.

This year alone, downtown will see the completion of a new headquarters for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce and the first 47 luxury condos in the $75 million mixed-use development around Heritage Square. Work will begin next month on a 368-bed upscale student housing complex as part of the same project ...

UBC looks back on its second hundred years
The Province - 20 Apr 2008
... VANCOUVER, BC - You know, as we prepare to celebrate UBC's second centenary, I have to think back on the controversies of 100 years ago when the school's forward-thinking leaders of that era were embarking on their University Town project.

The plan to develop the university with non-student housing and restaurants and boutiques was criticized as a greed-fueled gambit that would quickly spin out of control and destroy the empty spaces that somehow secured UBC's status as a sanctuary to learning ...

New student housing in Madison is changing real estate landscape
State Journal - 20 Apr 2008
... MADISON, WI - The thousands of new student apartments sprouting up near UW-Madison have the potential to create a problem Downtown hasn't seen before on a large scale.

As students swarm to the newer dwellings, there's the danger of a "death spiral" in neighborhoods left behind, some officials say.

They worry that as competition rapidly heats up, older apartment houses will bring in lower rents or go vacant, landlords will postpone maintenance and neighborhoods such as Bassett, Mifflin, Greenbush and Vilas will grow ragged ...

Former mayor appointed economic development director
Oxford Press - 20 Apr 2008
... OXFORD, OH - Close to a year after Oxford began looking for a new economic development director, the search is over.

Members of the Community Improvement Corporation voted last April to begin the hiring process, with hopes of finding a candidate to deal with businesses and help to acclimate newcomers.

City Manager Doug Elliott said a committee has found that very person, perhaps closer to home than initially expected.

Lifelong Oxford resident and former Mayor Alan Kyger was appointed as the city's economic development director ...

Meet Springsteen's Rosalita and rock muses Rikki and Sharona, too
Daily News - 20 Apr 2008
... USA - DuCornet was pregnant and married when she met Fagen at a jazz show in an upstate New York college town. She planned to call him but lost the slip of paper with his number.

It was 10 years later that she first heard the song "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," which hit the top of the pop charts when she was living in France ...

Landlords get the runaround on student housing issue
NewsDurhamRegion - 20 Apr 2008
... OSHAWA, ON - How much fun is it these days to be a landlord trying to rent out houses near Durham College and UOIT?

Thanks to a stink kicked up by area residents, City council established new rules for people wanting to rent homes in the area. Beginning May 30, landlords have to obtain a licence from the City and to get that licence, they have to meet a list of requirements.

But many of the landlords are still unclear on what those requirements are, because the City has made it confusing ....

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