Opinion: Column
Madison renters need competition
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Also by Ammar Al Marzouqi:
- Initiative critical for campus progress (April 9, 2009)
- Economic cures lie in gray zone (March 25, 2009)
- America and its violent problem (March 5, 2009)
- Madison renters need competition (February 5, 2009)
- Fixing America's torture debacle (January 22, 2009)
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Madison is a college town with reasonably priced and well-maintained rentals which are managed by caring and cooperative landlords. Ha! If anything, campus area rentals are overpriced, poorly maintained and those who manage them are so confident their product will sell that they don’t even bother doing their job properly.
Yet it seems that the Madison City Council values the conservation of Langdon area “viewscapes” more than providing students with diverse and improved housing options. This is evidenced by the council’s recent decision to turn down the proposal to build a new apartment complex on the Acacia fraternity property.
This isn’t to say that there weren’t some legitimate concerns regarding density planning and the size of the building itself, but I couldn’t help but notice that the majority of the objections brought forth by Council members and Capitol Neighborhoods Inc. were about the effects the building would have on the “feel” of the area and whether a new apartment building would disturb the “charm” of the street as a whole. Now, forgive my apathy toward these so called concerns, but they are hypocritical at best. I live on the west side of campus, in a bright green and orange building surrounded by houses and apartment buildings of various sizes and colors. Hence, I wonder what theme the city planners were going for when they authorized all these projects — the hallucinations of a depressed pothead perhaps.
Instead of worrying about the intangible charm and feel of the city, the City Council should take into consideration the direct effects of increasing campus area housing options. Rental prices in Madison are substantially high when compared to other cities with a large student population. For example, both the cities of Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City, Utah, have universities with over 30,000 students and both cities have rental rates much lower than Madison’s. I lived in Salt Lake City for a year, and I paid two-thirds of my current rent, for an apartment that was twice as big.
This difference in rental rates is not mystical — it is a simple result of supply and demand. Yet those who oppose new projects point to the increasing vacancy rate in Madison as proof that there are more than enough housing options. Not only do they ignore the fact that most the vacant units referenced are not viable for student use either due to their distance from campus or that they are for sale, but they also ignore the fact that almost every viable option for student housing in the city is at, or near full capacity. Hence, the city council should encourage new real estate projects in order to satisfy the ever-present demand for student housing and force rentals rates down.
Not only will this help solve the problem of high rentals rates, but it can also lower demand on parking with the construction of underground parking lots. As it is, one would think he was in Chicago or New York, due to parking hovering at over $100 a month in the downtown area, and with over a six-month waiting list for public ramps.
In the debate over the expansion and development of our city, the aversion to the gentrification of student life and the fear of losing the charm of a school town should always take a back seat to the more pressing and tangible issues of high rental rates and lacking competition due to high demand. Not only would the encouragement of new developments ease demand, but it will also increase the quality of the services provided due to the increased competition over the business students provide. Only when these issues are resolved can City Council go back to worrying about what vibe a building gives off and whether it gels with the overall Feng Shui of a neighborhood.
Ammar Al-MArzouqi (almarzouqi@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in computer science.
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Dude, a 20 minute bus ride gets you out past Hilldale and into much cheaper housing. It may not be Party Central, but it’s a safer and more affordable place to live.
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You pay a high price for convenience. It is evident in all aspects of life.
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The proposed rent for that place was around 700 a month. A certain class of student can pay that rent, and certain class of student can not. I would love for someone to find out how large the supply of “affordable” housing for students is, say 600 and lower. I would say the base rate, with heat and internet included on Langdon is between 600 and 650. I live on the lake and my rent is going up because of it, so this place would have little bearing on that. The only viable option is to build two large dorms in the center of campus, or a large, less luxurious version of Lucky aimed at middle and low income students.
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@ 6:38: I live past Hilldale. It’s a 10-15 bus ride and it’s really nice. Better prices and much better apartments, and the Sheboygan St. area is full of UW students. Parking is freeeeee. Wonderful area.
But like 10:19 said, the convenience of being on campus, minutes away from State St. and classes is great.
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$100 for parking in new york? ha. that would get you two days
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They could also start building cheaper, affordable apartment buildings. Most of downtown is starving college students. We’re not all rich! No more condos. The only folks who can even afford condos are yuppies, most of whom won’t live downtown with all us crazy college-age party animals.