By Mickey Gorman
Forty percent of undergraduate students at Washington and Lee University live in off-campus housing. That may soon change.
A university task force recently presented an idea to the board of trustees that would require students to live on campus for three years instead of the two years that are now required. The plan, which could affect more than 400 students each year, includes an on-campus community for upperclassmen and new dining options.
Sidney Evans, the university’s vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said the goal of the proposed change is to offer safer living conditions for undergraduates and foster a stronger student culture on the university’s 430-acre campus.
“If we do build this new neighborhood [we] think it would be important to have a cool pub, a sports bar, a table-service restaurant,” said Evans, who was a member of the Residential Life Task Force. “Something like that would sort of be the anchor of that community.”
According to members of the outside community, however, students play a vital role in the local economy.
“I don’t think people are irate,” said John Welsh, a local business owner and landlord. “But this would be a drastic change. Any time the school pulls revenue out of the community it’s frowned upon.”
The university’s 13-person task force started researching student housing patterns in spring 2011 and found that only 60 percent of its 1,760 undergraduate students lived on campus. This is low compared to similar colleges. Ninety-five percent of students at Davidson College and 86 percent of students at Vanderbilt University live on campus, according to both schools’ websites.
If the proposal is approved, Welsh says, more than 100 houses in Lexington and Rockbridge County could be left without renters.
“It is going to be a pretty significant setback for property owners,” said local landlord and restaurant owner John Blackburn. He believes the plan’s effect on the local housing market might worsen the relationship between the university and its neighbors.
Blackburn, who owns three rental houses, and Welsh, who owns seven houses, fear that more vacancies will turn into more foreclosures. According to court records, one in every 51 homes has been foreclosed in Rockbridge County since 2008. Rockbridge County Administrator Spencer Suter believes more foreclosures might reduce property values in Rockbridge County.
Regardless, university officials say their highest priority is student safety. In the past three years, student safety has been jeopardized by a collapsed porch and a house fire, both of which occurred in rental houses on Furr’s Mill Road. Task force members say mandatory on-campus living for three years would ease safety concerns amongst administrators and parents.
“It is impossible for the university to guarantee the safety of off-campus structures,” according to the task force’s official report. “This is particularly concerning in the county where the required standards are low.”
Rockbridge County does not have a routine inspection program. A tenant must express safety concerns if he or she wishes to have the property inspected. The city of Lexington, on the other hand, adopted the Virginia Maintenance Code, which establishes routine inspections of all rental properties.
Although task force members anticipate possible disputes from landlords, they believe a housing development for upperclass students may actually boost business for local retailers and property owners.
“I think frankly a little healthy competition isn’t a bad thing from what I’ve heard from students,” said Evans. “Some of the stories from students are that landlords— some of the landlords— are not terribly responsive. Some of the properties are not in the best condition, so maybe a little heightened competition might be beneficial.”
Students who live on campus will also travel by foot, making them more likely to stop in at a local store, she added. Students who commute by car are more likely to just drive by local shops and restaurants.
The Washington and Lee board of trustees talked about the housing proposal at a meeting earlier this month, but a decision was not reached. The trustees did approve a proposal to restore and renovate the university’s Warner Center gymnasium and build a new natatorium with a pool.
“I anticipate that we’ll continue to talk about it over the next few meetings,” Evans said. “I think the ’W&L way‘ is more sort of coming to a consensus.”