Converting 13 houses on five streets into student housing: It’s an ambitious plan well-suited to a major academic institution like Tufts University.
But what does the proposed West Medford housing conversion proposal mean for the city Tufts is located in? Medford residents and city officials will find out on Jan. 11 when the city Zoning Board of Appeals reviews Tufts’ proposal for housing 124 students in apartments located in a residential neighborhood.
The hearing’s a month away but several board members have questions about how Tufts plans to monitor the properties and their young tenants. The houses are now occupied by Tufts employees, including faculty members, with some space set aside for offices.
Some students do live in several of the residences, which are divided roughly equally between one- and two-family dwellings.
Located on a hill overlooking surrounding communities, Tufts looms above its neighbors even as it shares streets and neighborhoods with Medford. The objective of its housing proposal is ambitious as the project’s scope.
In converting faculty housing and office space to student housing, Tufts is presenting the possibility, if not extreme probability, that the prospective student tenants will be good neighbors who are focused as much on neighborhood life as they are attuned to campus life.
Being a good neighbor in a city setting means being conscious of parking and noise restrictions and adopting common sense urban living practices.
It’s easy for students to find themselves in the spotlight glare of bad publicity when parties or antics, generally the domain of young people, get out of hand. But communities like Medford and Lynn typically benefit from the opportunity to call themselves college towns.
Most academic institutions maintain high standards for property maintenance and security. In Lynn, North Shore Community College’s campus counts Lynn residents among its commuter students and has contributed to the cityscape by building a new addition.
The Lynn campus provides its own parking and has forged a relationship with the Lynn public school system that is growing stronger. Tufts enjoys a similar relationship with Medford. The university makes space available for high school graduations and university administrators have already agreed to parking restrictions related to the proposed housing conversion.
Converting West Medford homes to student housing is a way to teach students to be good neighbors instead of simply assuming Tufts’ students are equipped with the life skills involved in being a good tenant.
The Jan. 11 board hearing is a chance for city and university officials to evaluate their relationship to date and discuss how to improve it by successfully compromising on the West Medford housing plan.
The people who will have the final word on the project’s success or failure will be homeowners and taxpayers living next to the 13 homes slated for conversion to student housing.
