Lean Times Revive Resentment in College Towns
May 11, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Town-gown relationships that flourished in the boom years are souring as the economic crisis delays ambitious expansion plans by elite universities and drains the budgets of college towns, according to The New York Times.
Residents in North Allston, Mass., are angry that Harvard plans to slow or even abandon construction of a $1-billion science complex in the town, leaving a gaping pit where the foundation has been dug.
Officials in Ann Arbor, Mich., Princeton, N.J., and Durham, N.C., have renewed calls for tax-exempt colleges and universities to make voluntary payments to their cities, while other college towns are seeking to assess new fees on colleges.
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