Greeley – The University of Northern Colorado is missing something the state’s two larger universities have: a hip hangout strip of coffee bars, sandwich shops and trendy stores.
The University of Colorado has “The Hill” and Pearl Street Mall, and Colorado State University has Old Town Square.
But UNC is in the old part of Greeley, and new restaurants and retail stores are popping up on the west side of town, away from campus.
UNC president Kay Norton pledged Tuesday to build partnerships with the city and downtown developers to spark economic growth near campus. The east side of town’s vacancy rate is too high and the area across the eastern border of the main part of campus has the highest crime rate in the city, Norton said.
“We will not allow the area of Greeley east of 23rd Avenue to be left behind in the growth of northern Colorado,” Norton said to community members during a “State of the University” address. “Benign neglect and gentle decline are not in our playbook.”
Norton said UNC and Greeley have time to fix the problem before it becomes serious.
“We can’t pick up and move,” she said. “The area around us can deteriorate if we don’t pay attention.”
UNC has been known in the past as a “suitcase college” because many students drive home on weekends.
Almost 90 percent of first-year freshmen are from Colorado, and many are within two hours of home.
Building retail shops and restaurants near campus and in downtown Greeley would keep more students in town for the weekend, said Gil Carbajal, a university trustee.
“It’s getting better,” he said. “The last two football games, the student stands had quite a few more students.”
Greeley Mayor Tom Selders said the city has overlooked UNC’s 12,000 students in the past, but that is changing.
UNC students voted for a fee increase last spring to build a complex for the women’s soccer team on the eastern border of campus. University and city leaders are working together to let the surrounding community, which has had some gang trouble, use the soccer field.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached jenbrown@denverpost.com or 303-820-1593.
