Suite deal

City officials and even several college administrators are hip to the idea of housing local college students near Main Street. It's a good way to spark life in the city's center. The question remains: are students hip to the idea of moving off campus?

by Nancy Rappaport

Worcester houses 10 colleges and universities, and yet downtown is no place like home to the city's 27,000 students. But that may change under a plan to bring college students downtown -- not only to hang out but to live there. The proposal, which is being touted by at-large city councilor Tim Murray, if completed could add the vitality to Main Street that would attract small businesses, eateries, and specialty-type stores needed for downtown to thrive.

Residency, plan supporters argue, is the key to creating the neighborhood atmosphere missing from Main Street but so central to the success of other college towns.

"It is common knowledge that if the revitalization efforts and investments made on Worcester's downtown are to succeed, downtown must be both a place where people work and live," says Murray, who has targeted several downtown buildings, including 111-115 Pleasant Street, 87 Pleasant Street, and 17 Norwich Street among others. "If we're serious about downtown revitalization and getting a return on the millions of dollars taxpayers have invested on downtown projects, we must do all we can to bring a neighborhood atmosphere to Main Street. I believe that the creation of a downtown college residence would be a catalyst in adding that hustle and bustle."

Murray has asked the city administration to renew discussions with local college officials -- talks that fizzled following 1994 meetings on how to transform Worcester into a college town.

But unlike past discussions, enthusiasm is now building among city officials who agree that both the city and the college community would be well served by moving college students downtown. They also say, however, that they have their work cut out for them in trying to sell the idea to college administrators, who encourage students to stay on campus and build a community there.

"We thought bringing students downtown was a good idea when it was proposed several years ago, and we still do now," City Manager Thomas Hoover says. "Of course, it would take some cooperation from the Colleges of Worcester Consortium and the colleges themselves."

Murray, who has been meeting with representatives from the colleges and the consortium, says they appear "fearful" of his plan because of downtown Worcester's negative image. "There's a lot of hesitancy among the colleges," Murray says. "But there are a lot of ways to make this work."

THE BENEFITS TO THE CITY are clear: the infusion of the energy college students universally possess into downtown and the subsequent attraction of new businesses. But there are solid benefits for the colleges as well.

"The colleges talk about choices and opportunities," Murray says. "This would get students off campus and into the real world. A lot of times they're moving off campus anyway. They're looking for more freedom, more options. It's an opportunity to give kids choices and, at the same time, have a more attractive downtown."

As an added incentive, Murray says, an internship component could be part of the housing deal. "There are natural linkages the colleges could highlight," Murray says. "Programs and internships for students majoring in subjects such as finance, law, government, and medicine could be developed between our banks, law firms, courts, city government, and hospitals. Students interested in theater and the arts could work on programs with Foothills Theatre, the art museum, and the Centrum Centre."

There have been other attempts to integrate the colleges into the downtown fabric of the city. In 1994, a College Town Steering Committee was created to come up with a plan to create an atmosphere that would attract college students to a redeveloped downtown area. Strides were made to build up college/community networks and relationships, culminating in a one-day conference designed to heighten the dialogue between college students and the city.

Although some changes came out of those meetings, mostly in the form of improved relations between the city and its colleges, the issue fell flat following the conference, says Stephen O'Neil, director of the city's Office of Planning and Community Development.

"We've done some things, but we're merely scratching the surface," O'Neil says. "Now we're looking at student housing, but it's a long way off. We're trying to get the colleges to understand that what's good for the city is good for the colleges; but sometimes it's a stretch for the universities. They see their goal as providing a quality education, and ancillary to that is housing on campus, and way off of that is housing off campus. Downtown housing for students is a leap, a very significant leap, not one I think will happen overnight.

"We've not been rebuffed by the colleges," he adds. "I think they want to research it and weigh the issues."

Part of the issue is that the proposal deviates from the whole idea of creating a campus community, where students select a school based on that community and where administrators enjoy the type of control that comes with students living within the campus' confines, Fred Baus, executive director of Worcester's college consortium, says.

"That's not to say it's not a possibility; I don't think the colleges are necessarily against it. But whether there's a benefit to the colleges, I'm not sure," Baus says. "When students come to a particular culture, it's for a particular reason. It depends on their interest in living downtown, how it can be supported, how it would be perceived. As part of the discussions last time there was a student survey about the desirability of downtown. The response was not positive."

Safety concerns and Worcester's image problem were the force behind adverse reactions from college officials that former city councilor John Buell faced when he twice proposed the idea of creating a downtown campus. "It didn't go much of anywhere," Buell says, who proposed the plan in 1994 and again in 1996. "There was some strong reaction from the college community. They were not receptive at all. Also, I don't know how much was done by the city administration. I'm not aware of any substantial effort, and for something like this to work there would have needed to be a champion of the idea within the city administration. Someone's got to carry the flag. It's not an easy sell."

As far as Murray's idea for housing, Buell says, "I think downtown classes is an easier sell, but I like the idea."

Buell's concept was to have a multi-sited campus centering around the common. The idea was for students to have government classes at City Hall, finance courses at downtown banks, retail courses at city stores. "The theory is that you'd have a low-cost program using existing free space from the various entities and attract students downtown," Buell says.

"The concern from the colleges was about their ability to market their schools to prospective students," Buell adds. "They felt that if parents became aware that they were planning to send students downtown, they wouldn't want to send them to college in Worcester."

In the years since the College Town Conference, there have been efforts to address safety concerns and establish a police presence downtown. "I think the marketing tool by having a college town atmosphere would offset any misgivings people have," Buell says.

THERE REMAINS THE larger problem of Worcester's image.

Popular college guide The Princeton Review, in which students from across the country rate their campuses on faculty, workload, class size, social life, and sports, can attest to Worcester's image problem.

The three Worcester schools listed in its publications make mention of Worcester under the `Not' portion of "What's Hot, What's Not" on campus.

"Life at Clark University means dealing with life in Worcester (pronounced `Woostah,' as if you're in a Pepperidge Farm ad) where, evidently, never is heard an encouraging word," Clark's entry reads. " `There is a lot of frustration about location,' one student comments. The consensus: Worcester is no cultural Nirvana, but the school is cool."

The Holy Cross entry notes that while the students rate themselves as happy, "most annoying is the city of Worcester, which isn't dangerous, just boring." WPI's listing makes it unanimous. "As for the city of Worcester, `It sucks!' is the consensus. `Fortunately,' says one student, `there is no reason to go into town, except the Centrum.' "

Students are asked some pretty general questions, so it's difficult to draw any major conclusions, says Ed Custard, from The Princeton Review and its "Guide to the Best 311 Colleges."

"We ask them to rate the town, and if Worcester hasn't changed much since I've been there, I don't think they're particularly off the mark," he says. "It does not have a lot to offer for college students."

Although Custard says he was intrigued by Murray's plan for downtown housing, Custard questions the plan's viability.

"I don't think it's likely college officials will do things at Holy Cross to encourage kids to move downtown because residential life is such a big part of the campus," he says. (Jack O'Connell, a Holy Cross spokesman, says that the college had no comment on the student-housing proposal.)

Custard says clustered downtown living is usually reserved for places like Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan dominates the town.

"It's one thing to live in Ann Arbor as opposed to downtown Worcester," Custard says. "It's an interesting idea, but in Worcester, students are not going to move there for the heck of it. I don't know about this `If you build it they will come' belief. You'd have to have colleges be very enthusiastic about this."

CITY COUNCILOR MURRAY says that while the colleges bring much economic benefit to the city, it's time for them to do more. He sees his plan as a creative way of asking colleges to contribute to the revitalization of downtown.

According to a recent report by BankBoston, "The Colleges of Worcester: A Foundation for Economic Success," the direct- spending impact of higher education in Worcester is $582 million annually. However, Murray points out, "between the colleges and the hospitals Worcester has about 30 to 34 percent land space that's not taxable, so that's money we're not getting.

"If you look at Worcester the past 10 to 15 years -- Paul Revere was bought out, we've seen the banks leave, then there's St. Vincent's, Fallon -- it's all left kind of a void," Murray says.

Across the nation there has been a trend toward increasing contributions on the part of colleges and universities toward economic and human development. At many colleges and universities located within urban cores, there have been city-revitalization efforts. Institutions such as New York University and Columbia University have steadily purchased buildings in their neighborhoods for housing and to gain control over the neighborhood. There has been a lot of intermingling between colleges and retail as well.

Yale University has become a national model for its partnerships with New Haven in the areas of economic development, neighborhood revitalization, education, and human development. The university was awarded a $2.4 million federal grant in 1996 to fund collaborations between Yale, the city, and residents of several neighborhoods. Yale also supports efforts downtown. The university is a $12.5 million investor in a $108 million downtown retail and residential project, and it worked with the city to revitalize the city's Broadway shopping district.

"Just as universities desire healthy cities to make themselves more attractive to prospective students and faculty, city leaders should recognize that healthy universities and their affiliated medical centers provide a stable base of urban employment that is increasingly the principal engine of urban economic growth," said Yale President Richard Levin in a recent Boston Globe Op/Ed piece. "As institutions of higher education we must help our cities become what we aspire to be on our campuses -- a place where human potential can be fully realized."

In Worcester, many of the city's colleges have made strides to develop the surrounding community, Baus says, through volunteerism and community projects. Clark University has become a national model in its own right for university/community partnerships with its multimillion dollar revitalization of Main South's University Park area. The University Park Partnership, which includes public safety and educational programs for families and children, low-interest loans to homeowners and free tuition, and educational programs for children, has attracted more than $14 million, including $2.4 million federal grant.

"Obviously it's in our own self-interest," says Jack Foley, Clark University's assistant to the president. "The stronger the neighborhood is, the more attractive Clark will be to students and the more attractive Worcester becomes. When students are considering a school, they look at the community.

"If students want to live downtown it would make Clark more attractive," Foley says. "Would Clark be interested? It depends on the plan. It's market driven. If students wanted to live downtown in an area with other students, it would have to be the students' choice."

THERE IS NO HOUSING CRUNCH at Clark or several of the other local colleges. In fact, Assumption College is building another residence hall, which will offer an academic component for those that live there. However, the downtown student housing program could offer a safe, clean housing option for students who presently choose to live off campus, college officials say.

"We only have a small portion of students who commute or move off campus to try it for a year, but for those students there are not a lot of options available," says Nancy Crimmin, associate dean of students and director of residential life at Assumption College, where 90 percent of the students live on campus.

There aren't a lot of apartment buildings in the area, and the ones that are closest have been described by students as "disgusting" at best, she says.

"I don't think that if downtown housing became available that we'd have more students move off campus, but the ones that do, it would make it easier for them," Crimmin says. "For those who want the experience, it would be a good option. If it were more affordable and safe and clean, their parents would be happier."

Crimmin says that she often hears from parents concerned about where their children may end up living. "If they're moving off campus, they're looking for something cheaper. I don't know what they'd find for $400 to $600 a month. To get them downtown, they'd have to be able to get something cheaper."

Rooms in Assumption's residence halls range from $3450 to $4500 a year. Meal plans are an extra $2000. Housing rates at the city's institutions are not easily compared. They vary based on type of housing, some include room and board. The standard double rate at WPI, for example, is $3428, and approximately $3000 for meals.

"The only thing I'd question is would they go for it?" Crimmin says. "The concept is good. With some fine-tuning, it might work. But if you're going to put in some sort of supervision, like a resident director, my students would have a lot of questions. They'd want to know if they were being duped into a worse situation off campus."

Philip Clay, associate dean of students and director of admission services at WPI, says that the key to making a downtown housing situation work is sensitivity to student culture and student needs.

At WPI, where most students prefer to live on campus if for no other reason than computer, phone, and cable TV access, there is not currently enough on-campus housing to meet the demand. "A student housing complex would not only need to fit a student's financial situation and to be safe, they'd want the conveniences as well. We're in a consumer-demand society," Clay says. "To me, it makes sense for many students to live together. But they'd have to make sure that what they're proposing is attractive to students. Students who move off campus want more privacy; they want more space. There are some unique aspects of student culture. We're on terms. Students come and go. Is it a 10-month lease? A 12-month lease? It has to be designed for student use. It's a lot more complicated than you'd imagine at first glance."

EVEN IF COLLEGES ACCEPT the plan the question remains: will student housing downtown be successful in attracting businesses?

City officials have tried to bring businesses into downtown unsuccessfully in the past because of the lack of available customer base, O'Neil says.

"We've looked at a Harvard Coop situation, coffee houses. They don't want to plunk the money down until they see that the housing has been established," he says.

An influx of students may be just the thing to attract business to Worcester, Murray maintains. According to the BankBoston study, direct spending by Worcester-area college students in the Worcester area is $111 million. In addition, their visitors, who show up for graduation, birthdays, and sporting events, for example, spend another $22 million on hotels, restaurants, travel and other items.

"People argue that the marketplace needs to attract students," Murray says. "Well, my feeling is that putting students there will attract businesses."

While, as a group, they are by no means wealthy, college students have more discretionary income than other age groups, and that is attractive to businesses, Ed Custard says. "If you have a coffee shop, it's going to do better in a college town where you have students drinking coffee during the day when other people are at work and late at night when other people are sleeping. Coffee shops, CD shops, book stores, pizza, Chinese food, laundries would all do well.

"But it's sort of the chicken-and-the-egg type of question. You can't expect business to come where there is no market," Custard says.

The answer might be to introduce student housing with shops built right into the ground floor such as New York University did as part of its recent revitalization efforts, he suggests.

"If some proposed shops and amenities were in place maybe the students would want to come to downtown," Custard says. "Maybe you offer subsidized rents to the businesses to get them make that leap of faith where there is no market. This has to be a joint effort between a lot of people."