Universities Look For Advice on Mixed Use. Creating a vibrant, near-campus retail neighborhood makes higher education’s short list

Here’s the good news: According to Chicago-area firm Teenage Research Unlimited, young people spent upwards of a whopping $169 billion in 2004. Those dollars can translate into significant business around colleges and can impact the way a school attracts Generation Y prospects.

The bad news: Figuring out how to build a retail portfolio makes for a real undertaking.

It’s an undeniable truth that change does not come quickly or easily in the world of higher education. Yet from The Ohio State University to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, more IHE decision-makers are realizing that developing a retail portfolio near campus provides a solution to several challenges. Vital retail offerings–from Starbucks to a locally owned music shop–can not only satisfy students but boost a school’s image, attract faculty and staff, enliven surrounding neighborhoods, and strengthen revenue streams.

South Campus Gateway in Columbus, Ohio

Retail advisors suggested that a movie theater anchor South Campus Gateway in Columbus, Ohio, to make the complex a destination.

The word on retail is circulating widely. During a recent meeting of the Association of University Real Estate Officials, a roundtable session on retail development drew a packed room of about 75 people. Beneath the excitement about retail exists a strategy, one that successful colleges are not keeping secret: Looking beyond the IHE realm for guidance from third-party consultants can help ensure that retail efforts thrive.

By Caryn Meyers Fliegler

Full Story: http://www.universitybusiness.com/page.cfm?p=1082