Survey shows level of ASU student interest in downtown Albany (Decatur: 2015, university)

[Airforceguy]

I hope one day this will lead to ASU moving some programs off campus to the downtown area and building residence halls there. Downtown Albany could certainly use the boost.

ASU Vice President for Institutional Advancement Clifford Porter told the ADICA board after Timothy Sweetholp, Daniel Affortu and a group of Albany State students presented findings of their Downtown Student Survey Wednesday that the university is open to discussion about a closer relationship with the city.

#“The university is open to discussion about what it takes for us to be more a part of the city,” Porter told the ADICA board. “This survey shows what our students want, and we will do our best to make that happen.”

#The survey results, revealed as part of a Power Point presentation before the inner city authority primarily by Affortu, indicated Albany State students are highly likely to spend their disposable income downtown if given more retail options and better access to the downtown area.

#A remarkable 99.2 percent of the 300 ASU students surveyed said they would eat at restaurants downtown if given the opportunity, and 81 percent said they’d be willing to live downtown if residency opportunities are provided by the university. Sixty-four percent said they’d live in the downtown district even if housing was not provided by ASU if it were affordable.

#“I had some friends visit, and we decided to walk to the downtown district on a Saturday to see what was available,” Catiana Foster, a senior history major from Decatur, told the ADICA board. “Many of the shops were not appealing to people our age, and I’ve got to say walking across that bridge to get downtown was frightening. I’d really like to see some of our travel fees used for a downtown shuttle

Survey shows level of ASU student interest in downtown Albany | Albany Herald

[alco89]

It's crazy that more hasn't been done to better connect ASU to downtown. It's been 100+ years! As an alum, I can assure you it would benefit both sides of the equation. Unfortunately, Albany as a whole struggles with forward thinking.

[GRS86]

Originally Posted by alco89

It's crazy that more hasn't been done to better connect ASU to downtown. It's been 100+ years! As an alum, I can assure you it would benefit both sides of the equation. Unfortunately, Albany as a whole struggles with forward thinking.

I agree!!