This is a question I’ve been hearing come out of the mouths of our civic leaders in Columbus fairly often over the past few years. The idea of “brain-drain” has been sometimes labeled as a regional crisis, and I’ll concede that it can be shocking to look at the figures of how many college students high-tail it out of the area upon graduation. Of course, the impact is lessened considerably when you start to look at how many graduates are also moving to Columbus from other cities and states as well. I think we’re balancing out fairly well.
But we don’t just want those young, hip, creative folks to stay in Central Ohio, do we? We need them Downtown to usher in a new era of fresh entrepreneurialism with their brand-new artistic skillsets!
Well… unfortunately, the youngsters can’t afford to live downtown. The majority of the condo developments to spring up over the last few years have mostly been aimed towards folks with money to spend. Sure, you can snag a condo for under $150,000, but not everyone wants to live in a 500-square foot cube. (Especially after finally escaping similarly sized dorm rooms and off-campus quarters.) And not everyone who is both “a professional” and “youngish” wants to buy either. Many want to continue to rent.
Which brings us to the announcement of the new CCAD (Columbus College of Art & Design) dorm building that will house an additional 208 students in the downtown campus. This new five-story structure will make a great addition to Cleveland Avenue, and the space being reserved for ground-level retail may help the area actually feel a bit more like a college campus.
I’ve always thought that for the vast student population split between CCAD, Columbus State, and Franklin University, there really isn’t much of a campus “presence” around these schools. Which is a shame because these young people are exactly who Downtown NEEDS as 24/7 residents and not just 9-to-5 students.
So then I ask… what’s next? Where do we go from here? These dorms will be great for the segment they serve, but it still doesn’t address the fact that upon graduation, these students have nowhere else nearby to live. Not that it’s really much of CCAD’s concern, but I’d be willing to bet that many graduates would stick around the neighborhood if given the choice. Plenty of post-graduate OSU students continue to live around OSU’s campus area because the rents are affordable and the scene is what they’re used to.
Why can’t we carry those principles over to this urban campus downtown? Why can’t a developer build dense rental housing aimed at the graduates?
Hrm… it would seem like an easy sell to me.