UCONN looking to make Storrs a college town

[EricLA]

This article was written two days ago but i did not see it on the board. sorry if it was already posted. at any rate, most UCONN fans would say "about time". looks like a $220 million effort is underway as it nears completion of the 1st phase...

College Town

School and development officials say the new housing, restaurants, shops, and offices could reshape the university’s image.

“From the university’s perspective, if you are competing for the top faculty and students and they come to visit Storrs and compare it to other great public universities like Michigan and Virginia, it’s been lacking in terms of a downtown,” said Howard Kaufman, whose New York-based firm LeylandAlliance is the lead developer of the project. “That is really what we are trying to bring to Storrs.”

 

[triaddukefan]

I've never been to Storrs..... so I assume its not a traditional college town ?? Just curious... what are the "college towns" in the Northeast ?

 

[Georgestarr7]

I've never been to Storrs..... so I assume its not a traditional college town ?? Just curious... what are the "college towns" in the Northeast ?

Boston

 

[triaddukefan]

Boston

What about Amherst ?? I think thats where UMASS is located....

 

[ChicagoGG]

Or Bennington, or Burlington. I think they means a town that has actual stores and apartments and houses in addition to the campus...as opposed to farm fields and dairy barns. Or to go back to an old Lou Holtz quote: "they should call it Storr, because they have only one."

Seriously, it can only help eveything but traffic - I think the kids have to drive quite a ways for shopping, etc., right now. And if you are a frosh/soph - no cars for you if you are a dorm resident.

 

[rbny1]

I've never been to Storrs..... so I assume its not a traditional college town ?? Just curious... what are the "college towns" in the Northeast ?

Middlebury, Williamstown, Princeton, Hanover (Dartmouth) and others. I'm not sure there are any college towns centered around large public universities in the Northeast - at least I can't think of any.

 

[vtcwbuff]

In my mind a college town is a small city or town where the presence of a college or university has a significant impact on the towns economics and culture. An old school and an older town. That fits most of the towns listed above.

Unfortunately, Storr(s) has the university but they don't have the town - just a mishmash of stuff that has grown up around the school.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I've never been to Storrs..... so I assume its not a traditional college town ?? Just curious... what are the "college towns" in the Northeast ?

Ithaca

 

[triaddukefan]

In my mind a college town is a small city or town where the presence of a college or university has a significant impact on the towns economics and culture. An old school and an older town. That fits most of the towns listed above.

Unfortunately, Storr(s) has the university but they don't have the town - just a mishmash of stuff that has grown up around the school.

Thinking off the top of my head... among the "BCS" conferences.. my perceived college towns are ..... ACC = Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Boston, and perhaps Blacksburg and Clemson. Big East = none that I can think of.... perhaps South Bend and whatever town Rutgers is located. Big 10 = All of them except Lincoln, Columbus, East Lansing, and Minneapolis. SEC = College Station (I guess), Auburn, Tuscaloosa (maybe), definitely Oxford, Athens, Gainesville and Starkville (well maybe) ... and perhaps Columbia.

I'll leave the Big 12 and Pac 12 for someone else... Im tired of thinking right now

 

[BooRadley]

I've never been to Storrs..... so I assume its not a traditional college town ?? Just curious... what are the "college towns" in the Northeast ?

Of those NE towns that could be described as college towns, the one I like the best is Amherst, MA. Some of the sub-Ivy league schools are also located in some very nice small towns that still haven't been ruined by "progress." These small places are real jewels in terms of historically significant "New England" architecture and a last bastion of the locally owned family stores/shops.

YOPB

 

[UcMiami]

I grew up in Storrs and still spend some of my time there. There really isn't a lot of land available to develop a 'town' center. Most of the land not already owned and built on by the University is taken up with private houses. The area being developed now is the only commercial section of town. I will be curious to see how well the apartments do - at the moment they appear to be priced above market, and it is a little hard to see the area supporting significant retail activity. Always a problem for retailing built around a university - what happens during the summer months when your business goes to crap. Currently you can get almost no home delivery food out of term - all the delivery shuts down.

 

[Icebear]

State College, PA

 

[MilfordHusky]

Other than the university, there is NO focal point in Storrs.

Look for Geno to play a key role in the development. The guy puts his money where his mouth is. He is far more than a coach.

 

[tomcat]

Boston

You're kidding, right? I mean, there's Boston, but Amherst immediately comes to mind, with UMass, Amherst, Mount Holyoke (in South Hadley) and Smith (in Northampton).
How about Middletown, CT, where Wesleyan is a huge presence?
Middlebury, VT. Probably Burlington, VT, where UVM dominates the scene.
Durham, NH, with the University of New Hampshire.
Orono, ME, with the University of Maine.
Hanover, NH, with Dartmouth, for sure.
Williamstown, MA
People who know Maine's Little Three, might say Waterville, Lewiston and Brunswick might be college towns because their colleges, Colby, Bates and Bowdoin, dominate activities there.

This is just New England. New York State has a ton, such as Ithaca, home to Cornell and Ithaca.

 

[Georgestarr7]

You're kidding, right? I mean, there's Boston, but Amherst immediately comes to mind, with UMass, Amherst, Mount Holyoke (in South Hadley) and Smith (in Northampton).
How about Middletown, CT, where Wesleyan is a huge presence?
Middlebury, VT. Probably Burlington, VT, where UVM dominates the scene.
Durham, NH, with the University of New Hampshire.
Orono, ME, with the University of Maine.
Hanover, NH, with Dartmouth, for sure.
Williamstown, MA
People who know Maine's Little Three, might say Waterville, Lewiston and Brunswick might be college towns because their colleges, Colby, Bates and Bowdoin, dominate activities there.

This is just New England. New York State has a ton, such as Ithaca, home to Cornell and Ithaca.

Yes, I was kidding...Boston is a college city. My favorite college towns are the Amherst/Northampton/South Hadley grouping

 

[alexrgct]

Thinking off the top of my head... among the "BCS" conferences.. my perceived college towns are ..... ACC = Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Boston, and perhaps Blacksburg and Clemson. Big East = none that I can think of.... perhaps South Bend and whatever town Rutgers is located. Big 10 = All of them except Lincoln, Columbus, East Lansing, and Minneapolis. SEC = College Station (I guess), Auburn, Tuscaloosa (maybe), definitely Oxford, Athens, Gainesville and Starkville (well maybe) ... and perhaps Columbia.

I'll leave the Big 12 and Pac 12 for someone else... Im tired of thinking right now

I graduated from Blacksburg High School. That town is a hole.

College Station is a college town like drunk tank is a fun place to end up of a Saturday night.

If you're going with new SEC schools, Columbia, MO is a fine college town.

For the Big XII, Austin is one of the canonical college towns. Ft Worthless (TCU) is OK. Lawrence, KS is solid. Morgantown is a drunkard's dream. Ames, Manhattan, Waco, Lubbock, Norman, and Stillwater are all ghastly.

PAC-12: Seattle? hell yes. Pullman? Beautiful, but hell no. Eugene? Hell yes. Corvallis? See Pullman. Salt Lake City? Oh yeah. Boulder? Indeed. Stanford/Palo Alto? Meh. But close to some nice places. Berkeley? Down with it. LA (x2)? Give me Westwood over South Central please. Tempe? Lame suburb of a lame city (Phoenix). Tucson? Badass.

Storrs is basically not a real place. However, given its proximity to Boston, Providence, and even NYC, there's a lot more around it than in many mediocre college towns. I mean, Lubbock really sucks, and you're gonna be driving a long time to get anywhere else.

 

[triaddukefan]

^^

So basically... the Big 10 has the best college towns of the BCS conference... followed by the ACC.

 

[alexrgct]

Yes, I was kidding...Boston is a college city. My favorite college towns are the Amherst/Northampton/South Hadley grouping

The Happy Valley=hipster capital of the known universe.

For the record, I adore Burlington, VT.

For my money, the three best college towns in the country are Boston, Austin, and Athens. Boston is a legit college town; the colleges are the reason it didn't deteriorate into a post-industrial hellhole. They're woven into the fabric of that city.

Honorable mentions to Eugene, Boulder, and Madison.

Cities that are great places to go to college: DC, Seattle, NYC, and Chicago.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Some of my favorites include Cambridge, Princeton, Ann Arbor, Madison, Palo Alto, Berkeley, and Charlottesville. I spent only a little time in Manhattan and it seemed Ok. Austin seemed cool to a non-student. Seattle is a big city; UW has their own neighborhood on a freakin' lake. Totally cool but for the constant drizzle during the academic year.

 

[alexrgct]

^^

So basically... the Big 10 has the best college towns of the BCS conference... followed by the ACC.

The Pac-12 has quite a bit to recommend it as well on balance.

 

[CL82]

Link to the development website

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[easttexastrash]

Austin! One of the best college towns in the nation. The live music capital of college towns.

 

[sarals24]

I graduated from Blacksburg High School. That town is a hole.

College Station is a college town like drunk tank is a fun place to end up of a Saturday night.

If you're going with new SEC schools, Columbia, MO is a fine college town.

For the Big XII, Austin is one of the canonical college towns. Ft Worthless (TCU) is OK. Lawrence, KS is solid. Morgantown is a drunkard's dream. Ames, Manhattan, Waco, Lubbock, Norman, and Stillwater are all ghastly.

PAC-12: Seattle? hell yes. Pullman? Beautiful, but hell no. Eugene? Hell yes. Corvallis? See Pullman. Salt Lake City? Oh yeah. Boulder? Indeed. Stanford/Palo Alto? Meh. But close to some nice places. Berkeley? Down with it. LA (x2)? Give me Westwood over South Central please. Tempe? Lame suburb of a lame city (Phoenix). Tucson? Badass.

Storrs is basically not a real place. However, given its proximity to Boston, Providence, and even NYC, there's a lot more around it than in many mediocre college towns. I mean, Lubbock really sucks, and you're gonna be driving a long time to get anywhere else.

Columbia, MO is a GREAT college town! Mizzou, Stephens College and Columbia College all in one town.

 

[cohenzone]

From experience with my kids schools, Ann Arbor, Ithaca, Evanston and Blacksburg are great examples. Those towns are good examples because the towns don't have a whole lot going on without the schools except that Evanston is a true suburb of Chicago. In New England the only places I've been that I think qualify are Williamstown MA, Amherst, Hanover , Northhampton and maybe Lewiston ME. Must be many others. I don't see a place like Middletown as being a college town Despite Wesleyan's close proximity to the downtown. I think the whole project in Storrs is a great development.

ETA: Just saw the comment about Blacksburg High. From the perspective of someone whose connection to Blacksburg is a son who got an advanced degree at VTech and where my eldest grandchildren were born and lived for 8 years until a little over a year ago, I will defend Blacksburg. Aside from the fact that the town is a pain to get to from CT, it is a true college town. The town practically drips in the VTech colors. It is a great place for kids education because there are a lot of kids whose parents are in the academic community. It has wonderful parks for kids and a fair amount of decent restaurants and drinking holes for the students. While Blacksburg is not Ann Arbor or Ithaca in terms of overall resources, for a town near nothing, it is perfectly fine. How can a town that's 45 minutes away from the Floyd Friday Night Jamboree be anything but great.

Also meant to say that Charlottesville has a great street mall, closed to traffic. Even though I'd been to the UVA campus before, I was unaware of that mall until a vacation in the area last year. I'm not exactly sure how close that mall is to campus.

 

[jsloanjr]

The best college town in the USA..........