Talking Stick - July/August 2009 - 32

The Other Side of the Street When Campus Comes to Town: A Reflection by Laurel Contomanolis At the University of Rochester, dedication, planning, and patience created an off-campus housing system that works. The University of Rochester in New York is a strongly residential campus; approximately 84 percent of our students live on campus. During each of the last three years, we have had significant unplanned-for increases in enrollment. As a result, many more students needed and wanted on-campus housing, but our campus lacked the necessary physical space. Our alternatives were to seek a new kind of housing option or compromise on our residential focus and encourage (push, really) more students to live off campus. Some options within the city of Rochester were explored, but they didn’t yield anything that met our standards or satisfied our students’ need to be close to campus. It was then that a private developer who owned property along the western edge of the Genesee River, directly across a footbridge from the campus, and who was willing to build apartments and lease the complex to the university, approached us. The neighborhood itself is made up of predominantly African American residents, many of them elderly, who had been displaced in the early 1960s during urban renewal. Unfortunately, the university’s experience with this geographic area had not always been positive, and there were students and parents (many of whom are active alumni) who had had negative experiences in the neighborhood. However, we knew that the residents took great pride in their neighborhood and that they would have active voices in the direction of any development. At the same time, we also knew that the city was focusing efforts to attract new businesses to the area and to drive economic development. This idea was certainly attractive on paper. The university was interested because of the area’s close proximity to campus and the fact that the construction would not be reflected on the university’s balance sheet. But the question remained about whether or not students would be interested in living in the new complex. A task force of faculty, staff, and students reviewed the plans and endorsed the project. Of particular note, students strongly believed that, if the university was to build in the neighborhood, it was important to become a part of the neighborhood. That was wise foresight, because neighborhood representatives initially were skeptical of the idea and concerned about conflicts between students and current residents. Our dean of students and I were asked to speak with the neighborhood association and, fortunately, we experienced a very positive meeting that set the stage for further engagement with the community and the neighborhood association. We were truthful in our answers and respectful of our new neighbors. This has continued to be the basis for our relationship. Once construction began, if there were instances where the developer did not deliver on promises or if the city made changes without consulting the community (and there were instances of both), we were instrumental in getting the dialogue back on track and making sure the university’s and the neighbors’ interests were viewed as critical to the future success of this project. We are now members of the neighborhood association, and we include students in the meetings. Our staff in the complex meets regularly with members of the neighborhood association to help plan events. We have fostered a very positive working relationship with the local police and the Neighborhood Service Center. We hear about problems early and are able to address them before things get out of control. Our students are engaged in activities in the neighborhood. We work successfully with the local schools on tutoring, engage some of the senior living complexes, have been a part of neighborhood dinners, and have held an ice cream social when new students move in, to break down some of the barriers. Attendance is always great. The benefits of this collaboration continue. An unsightly billboard has been removed, and new banners were installed to celebrate the connections between the university and the neighborhood. Economic development has grown as a number of businesses have opened in the area and others have expressed new interest. We have found through our conversations with the community that what we have in common outweighs the perceived differences that divide us. We are very optimistic about the future and continued development of the area and our relationship with our neighbors. We learned that, as is the case in most instances, being honest and fair in your dealings, while being respectful and engaged, can lead to success. Laurel Contomanolis is the director of residential life and housing services at the University of Rochester in New York. 32 Talking STick

Talking Stick - July/August 2009

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