Case Study
As Rowan began to increase its capital spending locally, the city of Glassboro saw a unique opportunity to leverage the Rowan investments by developing a plan for the transformation of the downtown area leading to the university. This plan ultimately became the $476 million, mixed-use development of Rowan Boulevard. In the city of Glassboro more than 30 percent of school-aged children qualified for the free lunch program and 20 percent of families earn under the poverty line. The growth that was transforming Rowan was noticed by the former mayor of Glassboro and the business community. Policy and business leaders were encouraged by the growing student market for retail services, housing and food coupled with the university’s strategic focus on becoming an “engine of growth” for Southern New Jersey. In 2008, the town purchased and demolished rundown properties to make way for the development. The Rowan Boulevard design plan generated significant interest by developers, in part because it included lease-back arrangements with the university for student housing and academic buildings.
The South Jersey Technology Park at Rowan University is located approximately one mile from the Rowan campus. According to Dr. Beena Sukumaran, who directed the management of the park for Rowan, the growth of business and investment in the Glassboro area was initiated in partnership with a local philanthropist, Sam Jones, who donated $1 million in 2006 for the establishment of the technology park. According to university literature, “The mission of the Technology Park is to establish a technology based entrepreneurial economy; expand and strengthen the unique research and learning environment of Rowan University; and create value for its surrounding communities in their economic, physical and social development.”
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham offers assistance to full-time, benefits-eligible faculty and staff who buy or renovate a home in designated areas in the nearby neighborhoods of Five Points, Glen Iris and North and South Titusville. These five year conditional grants may be used for the purchase, down payment and/or closing costs for a new home or for renovations on an existing home in the incentive zone. UAB will provide up to 10 grants per fiscal year for amounts of up to $8,000. According to the university, “Through this program, UAB will strengthen its connections to adjacent neighborhoods, contribute to community development, attract and retain valuable employees, promote sustainable practices and model leadership in providing employer-assisted housing benefits among Alabama employers.”
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University Neighborhoods Development Corporation works to build and enrich campus and community environment by investing in surrounding neighborhoods. UNDC is a partnership between University of Memphis, University District Business Alliance, University District, Inc., Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, and Economic Development Growth Engine. Opportunity zones are one of their main initiatives. Their Work Local program is designed to improve the community through job access and blight reduction by providing job-seeking panhandlers with a day’s wages and a meal to clean-up sites, where they work to reduce urban blight.
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Livable City Year program is a partnership between cities in Washington state and UW’s faculty and students from various disciplines to strategize solutions to the specific community’s needs. Since 2016, this university program has produced numerous projects for the cities of Auburn, Tacoma, and Bellevue including enhancing Startup 425, a program that provides value-adding services to local startups and neighborhood planning projects.
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NPU-T (Neighborhood Planning Unit-T), Ashview Community Development Association, West End Neighborhood Development Association, Westview Community Organization, West End Merchant Coalition, Booker T. Washington Homeowners Association are working together under the Morehouse College Community Revitalization Initiative (MCCRI) . The initiative was started as programming to develop a relationship with the college’s surrounding community, greater West End Atlanta. This initiative is the home base of the college’s Adams/Conner Scholars, student interns who serve as the liaisons between Morehouse and the community. The initiative has three objectives around supporting revitalization in this area of Atlanta: preparing a neighborhood revitalization plan that emphasizes community-articulated preferences for development and preservation, establishing community-based momentum for driving neighborhood revitalization, and promoting and strengthening meaningful linkages between the community and Morehouse College.
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Established in 2014 by a three-year grant from the Ball Brothers Foundation, the Building Better Neighborhoods Initiative connects Ball State’s resources with neighborhood development efforts across Muncie and Delaware County through “collaborative immersive learning experiences with Ball State faculty, students, and neighborhood associations; leadership development workshops and annual conference for neighborhood association members; best practices and support for neighborhood associations; and networking and learning opportunities for neighborhood leaders.”
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In 2004, La Salle University’s Office of Community and Economic Development worked with leadership and community members to craft a realistic plan to improve the quality of life for residents around the campus. The University’s findings led them to The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a Philadelphia-based CDFI and leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, community facilities, supermarkets, and commercial real estate. With the support of TRF, La Salle University began to develop a redevelopment strategy for its investment in the adjacent neighborhoods. The keystone of the plan was a 80,000 square foot retail center, The Shoppes at La Salle, located adjacent to the campus. The Shoppes at La Salle was anchored by a 50,000 SF Fresh Grocer, the first full-service supermarket built in the area in over 40 years. TRF facilitated $14 million in financing for the supermarket through a combination of grants and loans from Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative and Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Agency, New Markets Tax Credit financing, the American Recovery and Investment Act financing, and other sources of state loan funds and leveraged financing. The Fresh Grocer opened its doors in 2009, creating more than 250 jobs, mainly filled by local residents. The store also increased access to affordable, fresh food for the residents in the underserved neighborhoods around La Salle’s campus. In addition, the construction of the store incorporated state-of-the-art energy refrigeration and energy management systems that reduce energy consumption and contribute to enhanced financial performance to ensure sustainable operations of the store.