Although nearly three months have passed since the University announced plans to sell Westmoreland Apartments, many questions remain about this controversial proposal.
In early November, we urged the administration to be more forthcoming with details about the sale, such as specifying how the proceeds will be used (“Benefits of apartment sale require clear outline” ODE, Nov. 7). Yet few concrete details have emerged, and concerned students, faculty and community members have taken note.
The University Senate on Wednesday joined the ASUO Student Senate in opposing the sale – at least until administrators re-start the sale process to include stakeholders and share information about the academic benefits of the sale.
As University President Dave Frohnmayer would surely agree, re-starting the sale process is not feasible at this time. He has urged the State Board of Higher Education, the entity responsible for approving the sale, to act quickly to preserve opportunities for selling the $15-18 million apartment complex, which houses 592 residents.
Some interested parties want to know whether the complex will be sold to a private developer or a not-for-profit entity, which might maintain the apartments as housing that is affordable for students. Without some negotiation with potential buyers, as the board approved in early November, there is no way to gauge the possibility of selling the complex.
However, deciding how to best sell the complex is no longer the key issue; we need to decide, as a University, what we value.
In testimony before the board on Jan. 6, Frohnmayer said “every single penny of the $14 million” will go toward housing. Yet a University press release said money from the sale will “provide a stream of revenue to housing for future development and will be used to acquire property sites that advance the mission of the university in Eugene and Portland.”
The administration has not elucidated how buying property, especially sites in Portland, would benefit housing. Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley has said money will be used to modernize existing residence halls and attract students. At Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, he said there is a “very real market” for out-of-state students who might be attracted by improving the University’s less-than-desirable residence halls.
Assuming sale proceeds would cover all or some of the goals discussed by administrators, someone must still decide if attracting more students, and more tuition dollars to the University, should be of higher value than retaining students with families, graduate students and international students who live at Westmoreland. There simply aren’t enough affordable housing options for students who would be displaced.
As board member Tim Nesbitt said on Jan. 6, “What you’re saying is there’s a higher and better use for the resources. We need to hear about the other use and it needs to have purpose.”
Students have already expressed that they value nontraditional students.
We believe that if Westmoreland is to be sold, sale proceeds must be used for housing needs alone. Further, they must be dedicated both to improving residence halls and giving nontraditional students more housing options.
Such a compromise would truly be a legacy for this University.