Non-UW affiliated professionals living in UDistrict?

[GatsbyGatz]

I'm still receiving texts from my alma mater about attempted rape or assault near the campus at least once or twice a month. Years ago, the "University Avenue" for my alma mater was well-known by the locals as a red light district. Compared to where I went, UW's University District is rather tame. That being said, U-District seemed pretty gritty when compared to other spots in Seattle. Some of the pretty buildings on the streets of University or Berkeley looked to be in disrepair.

I wonder, why? Being right next to a campus of over 50K, you'd think that commerce would flourish here and investments would be high... It seems under-invested.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

I'm still receiving texts from my alma mater about attempted rape or assault near the campus at least once or twice a month. Years ago, the "University Avenue" for my alma mater was well-known by the locals as a red light district. Compared to where I went, UW's University District is rather tame. That being said, U-District seemed pretty gritty when compared to other spots in Seattle. Some of the pretty buildings on the streets of University or Berkeley looked to be in disrepair.

I wonder, why? Being right next to a campus of over 50K, you'd think that commerce would flourish here and investments would be high... It seems under-invested.

A good deal of the relative underinvestment in the U District is due to the University Village shopping center a half mile down the hill. That's the area that attracts all of the higher end retail and housing $$$. I'd compare it to the phenomenon where nearby malls suck the businesses from older downtown shopping districts. If you compare the two areas it's pretty obvious that The Ave has become the 'poor student' area while U Village is catering to the wealthier students as well as the families living in the upper-class neighborhoods nearby. Just since I went to school there U village has more than doubled in size and actually offers good parking options that aren't available in the U district itself.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

I'm still receiving texts from my alma mater about attempted rape or assault near the campus at least once or twice a month. Years ago, the "University Avenue" for my alma mater was well-known by the locals as a red light district. Compared to where I went, UW's University District is rather tame. That being said, U-District seemed pretty gritty when compared to other spots in Seattle. Some of the pretty buildings on the streets of University or Berkeley looked to be in disrepair.

I wonder, why? Being right next to a campus of over 50K, you'd think that commerce would flourish here and investments would be high... It seems under-invested.

The U District used to be the main shopping area, and had higher-end clothing outlets (I think even Nordstrom had a branch there, for a while), a fine jewelry store or two, and nice shops. People used to come to the U District from all over town to shop, stroll, and enjoy the ambience and restaurants. Sometime after Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley became "The Ave", a year-round street fair of sorts, and popular hippie hang-out, University Way in Seattle got popularly re-named "The Ave", and shops selling drug paraphernalia moved in. Over time, the whole character of the street changed. Also, the university took over more office space in the area, so some retail space was lost. The last high-end jewelry store finally gave up in the late 1990's, because the area was getting so seedy, and relocated to University Village. They didn't want to, but business had disappeared.

So it's not that U Village drew people away. U Village used to be a neglected somewhat run-down area. It's that the U District got so bad, with drugs and homelessness, it drove businesses to U Village. And U Village went through a major remodel and expansion, really bringing its profile up in the world. It attracted better stores than before, albeit national chains, vs. the U District's locally-owned businesses.