WU seeks community input for College Town

BY ANNA DOUGLAS
 

Students will have the opportunity to voice their opinions about what Rock Hill needs to be shaped into a college town.       
 

Representatives from the College Town Action Plan’s working group will meet with students from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on March 2 and March 11 in Dinkins Auditorium. Faculty, staff and retirees are encouraged to meet with the representatives from 2 to 3 p.m. on March 5 and March 12 in the same location.
 

Sydney Evans, CSL chair and the only student representative on the working group, said she plans to attend both student input sessions in March. Evans said she recommends the university publicize the student outreach meetings through student publications, Facebook and student e-mail.
 

“I hope they (students) will come with an open mind and ideas of what types of businesses, such as shopping, restaurants and communal places, they would patronize,” Evans said, “and what types of alternatives to on-campus housing they would like to see around campus.”
 

Suggested topics for the student input session include discussion about what students want to see in Rock Hill and what would make Rock Hill a college town that students would want to invite their friends to experience.
 

The working group met last Thursday to discuss the first phase of the project. Evans and Rebecca Masters, assistant to the president for public affairs, attended the meeting on behalf of Winthrop. President Anthony

DiGiorgio did not attend.
 

“President DiGiorgio’s attendance will depend on his schedule for any given day when events are occurring,” Masters wrote in an e-mail. “This is a time of year when he has to be available for Columbia meetings, sometimes with little notice, among other duties, so the CTAP group is empowered to move forward as needed without regard to whether the president and/or city manager can attend any particular session.”
 

Consultants Kevin Peterson, from Ayers Saint Gross, and Christian Volney, from Robert Charles Lesser and Company (RCLCO), met with the group to define what Rock Hill as a college town could look like and what part of the city would fall under that definition.
 

The RCLCO consultant, who will provide financial strategy for the plan, said the goal of the working group should be to offer ideas that are unique to Rock Hill. Both consultants have experience in similar college town projects and said some of their ideas will be taken from what they’ve seen implemented by other cities with universities. During Thursday’s meeting, committee members shared their definition of what a college town should be.
 

Brad Hastings, managing partner of Walk2Campus Properties, said there needs to be ways for students to “live, study and play in proximity to campus.” Hastings said because non-residential students live in various locations in Rock Hill, the town lacks a “college-town feel.”
 

Evans also said Hastings was on target with his view of what Rock Hill needs. Evans said a transformation in Rock Hill could solve the problem of students leaving campus on the weekends.
 

Others in the group expressed similar ideas.
 

Butch Brindel, CEO of Piedmont Regional Association of Realtors, said many students go home “because they

don’t feel like this (Rock Hill) is their home.” Successfully implementing the College Town Action Plan could change Winthrop’s reputation as a suitcase school.
 

One person in the group, however, said he is unsure whether this type of undertaking is right for Rock Hill and

Winthrop. Athletics often define a college town, particularly a football team, said Andrew Cope, vice president of

J.M. Cope Construction Company.
 

“Maybe looking into Old Town is a better way to go,” he said.
 

The RCLCO consultant told the group his goal is to provide a feasible outline for Rock Hill and Winthrop to attract businesses and students to the city.
 

“We don’t want to put out a plan that won’t be looked at from developers,” Volney said.
 

The consultant said he will survey York County and Charlotte in order to fully understand the dynamics of Rock Hill’s economy.
 

Winkler said students comprise about 20 percent of the spending power in Rock Hill, so he will look at other groups of people who are spending money, too.
 

The next working group meeting is tentatively planned for March 16. Questions and comments about the College Town Action Plan can be directed to the project’s Web site: www.collegetownrockhill.com.