Can young graduates be drawn to live and work in Poughkeepsie after their college years in the area?
A planning group from the business, nonprofit and government sectors in a Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress research program thinks they can ”“ that Poughkeepsie has the makings for a “college town” that millennials will want to call home.
Addressing a “youth flight” problem that affects Hudson Valley communities from Yonkers to Albany, members of the Pattern for Progress Research Fellows Class of 2014 explored how Poughkeepsie, “one of the most challenged yet promising small cities in the region,” can both retain its youths as they move from college life into the workforce and attract more millennials to its still undeveloped college-town lifestyle. The group presented its findings, together with reports from classmates studying obesity in Sullivan County and tools and content for mobile classroom learning by students riding the region”™s school buses, at a recent graduation luncheon hosted by Pattern for Progress in Newburgh.
The fellows surveyed more than 300 students at Marist College in Poughkeepsie and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park ”“ among the four colleges and one university within a 13-mile radius of the city. Only 9 percent of the students said they planned on or had interest in remaining in the Poughkeepsie area after completing their education. Of the 27 students who planned to stay, 12 came to study there from outside the Hudson Valley.
Among students who said they planned to leave town after shedding their academic gown, 42 percent said they felt no connection between their college experience and life in Poughkeepsie. Only 6 percent of students planning to move away said they felt strongly connected with the community.
Among students who felt there was no connection between their college and the city, 93 percent do not plan to remain in the area.
Safety and crime in Poughkeepsie neighborhoods were major concerns of students surveyed, followed by access to good jobs and the availability of affordable housing. The fellows in their report said many students felt the city “simply was not a safe enough place to reside.”
“Safety is my main priority,” one anonymous student was quoted in the report, “POK Millennials.” “Sometimes when I”™m driving through Poughkeepsie, I don”™t always feel safe. And I definitely do not feel safe enough to walk, especially by myself.”
“Affordability and safety are really two major concerns,” another student wrote. “I know that I could get a job in Poughkeepsie, but I don”™t know if I could afford to live in the part of Poughkeepsie where I would be safe to live alone.”
Another student described venturing into downtown Poughkeepsie only for “ethnic food which is unavailable elsewhere. If there were more small businesses, activities and the town felt safer, myself and many others would be more likely to go there.”
Poughkeepsie already has elements in place to become a hot community attracting young residents, according to the Pattern for Progress fellows. Chief among those is a “captive population” of “thousands of millennials” studying at colleges in the area. “They can be enticed to stay and begin their postgraduate life there with positive engagement and experiences in and around the city,” the fellows said.
To do that, the planners recommended that schools in the area ”“ Marist, CIA, Vassar College, Dutchess Community College and SUNY New Paltz ”“ collaborate to form a “learning living community,” a cooperative residence in the city for students in a wide range of fields doing internships at businesses, government and law enforcement offices or nonprofits and community organizations for one or two semesters.
Back at their inner-city residence, students could attend classes and join in study groups on social and political issues.
The community cooperative would “immerse students in a crucible of urban living where they can learn from and contribute to community efforts to create a safe, attractive, well-managed city,” the fellows reported.
A private developer could design and build the city residence with input from the collaborating schools and lease spaces to individual institutions in the cooperative, the report proposed.
Calling it a “perhaps bolder initiative,” the research fellows also proposed an “incubator residence” in the city, a development where young people pursuing advanced degrees or researching industry innovations early in their careers would have a supportive environment.
The fellows proposed that the area”™s academic institutions, leading businesses and organizations and emerging college graduates collaborate with an innovative developer to create the incubator residence. “A development where each academic institution sponsors 20 units (potentially 100-plus units) housed with educated, forward-thinking young adults supported by well-respected institutions is a great attraction to businesses,” they wrote.
“We understand that this is a long-term plan which will require courageous commitment,” they said of their proposal for the learning community cooperative and incubator residence. “Yet the prospect of having a section of the city designated for millennials to live and work would greatly help the city of Poughkeepsie become a thriving enclave for millennials.”
Yet Poughkeepsie can only realize its potential as a magnet college town if city officials first create a safe environment, the fellows said. They said the presence of “a walking police force that is engaged with individuals and business owners and involved in the community” will lower the city”™s crime rate.
The group also recommended the creation of a business improvement district or merchants association to help fund essential services and seasonal operations such as holiday decorating through assessments on businesses and to give businesses access to grant funding. Though city officials evaluated creating such a business group in the past but did not pursue it, it “could play a vital role in helping the city realize its potential as a millennial enclave,” the fellows wrote.
To begin the collaborative effort needed in Poughkeepsie, the fellows recommend that a coalition be formed from academia, local businesses, elected officials and law enforcement.
