News | 3/28/05

Students would not be friendly neighbors in downtown Towson, local community associations declared in a nearly unanimous vote earlier this month.

By a vote of 13 - 1, members of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations passed a resolution expressing opposition to "student housing in the Towson core" at a meeting Thursday, March 17.

The vote came as Towson University officials put the finishing touches on a Request for Proposals to develop housing for students within walking distance of the campus. One of those proposals could come from Heritage Properties. The developer is moving forward on a prospective project along Virginia and Pennsylvania Avenues called Towson Circle III.

Heritage hopes to develop student housing, retail/entertainment space and a parking garage where a parking lot is currently located.

The imprecise plans have elicited worries from some residents. Outspoken Riderwood Hills delegate Corinne Becker said she isn't opposed to student housing -- unless it is located next to residential communities.

"No one has cared to involve the community and all indications are that there will be 400 students in the heart of Towson," Becker explained. "Unless someone gives us something definitive, this is not conducive to the residential community."

The lack of specifics about the project has frustrated members of the council. Towson University has not signed any deals for development in downtown and Baltimore County officials have yet to follow through on promises to hold a "public meeting" to discuss the development.

"Nobody knows" the details, GTCCA Treasurer Steve Cupit explained. "Nobody's making any promises."

But "all roads point to student housing," Becker said.

In a letter to Towson President Robert Caret and County Executive Jim Smith last week, GTCCA President Judy Gregory said the Towson Circle III project is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.

"The residential community has not yet been invited to the table for the planning stage of such a massive development that would dramatically change the atmosphere in Towson," Gregory's letter said.

Based on conceptual drawings he obtained, GTCCA Recording Secretary Mike Ertel described Heritage's plans: "It is labeled student housing. There is an RA and a study lounge on each floor. Most of the apartments are three to four bedrooms with shared bathrooms."

The concept is dorm-like, Ertel said. "There's no appeal to anyone but students."

University officials have said the term dorm mischaracterizes the project.

At the meeting, GTCCA members passed a complementary resolution that asserted the council's support of "owner-occupied residential" units including retail, restaurants and office space.

The motion passed by a vote of 15 - 2.

Student housing is seasonal by nature, Gregory explained in the letter.

"Our constituents feel the Towson core needs Owner Occupied Housing, which provides year round foot traffic to Towson businesses," she wrote.

A 2003 report by the Towson Revitalization Partnership concluded that students could aid in the "economic redevelopment" of downtown.

But members of the GTCCA said they had to look out for their quality of life and property values, not urban core revitalization.

The community's elected officials have stressed their concern.

At the GTCCA meeting, District 42 delegate Bill Frank said the plans are "a little scary." An aide to Sen. Jim Brochin said the state senator had recently sent a letter to Smith expressing hope that Towson could resemble Bethesda -- as opposed to College Park. But concern didn't stop the approval of state funding for the Circle project earlier this month.

House and Senate committees approved a $2 million bond bill that provided state funds toward infrastructure for the development.

The funds will be used for the "design and construction of public infrastructure, including roadway improvements, sidewalks, the storm water system, the underground electrical utilities, landscaping, and garage site infrastructure."

Whether or not the University participates in the Towson Circle construction project, student housing could spread off campus in the years to come.

Towson's Request for Proposals will be released soon, TU Spokesperson Susanna Craine told GTCCA delegates.

Last month, Caret said new student housing in Towson could stimulate a "college-town feel."

"I'm interested in a project that gives us the housing we need in the timeframe we need, that is in proximity to campus and ties us to the general urban core of Towson," he said.

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