BUFFALO, N.Y. — The abrupt decision by Medaille to close very soon is troubling for people who live near the university.
“We're concerned about our property values here in the Delaware district. We probably pay the highest taxes in the city. And we would just like to be acknowledged as being homeowners. It's a very stable neighborhood, there's people that have been here for 40, 50, 60 years," Meredith Bartek said.
Medaille plans to close at the end of August and neighbors have watched homes bordering the campus sold to the college and turned into offices.
“They basically started what I have to call blockbusting of residents who had been there for a long time and say, you know, college students are moving in. They're moving in on either side of you. Do you want to sell now? That is blockbusting?” she said.
Her husband Dwight said, there's always been kind of a love-hate relationship with Medaille and the people in the area. You know, obviously, they've taken all those houses off the tax roll and they basically destroyed them.
"These houses on Humboldt Parkway, once beautifully designed inside, were gutted and now serve as college offices. The back of these properties was turned into one continuous concrete ramp leading to the campus." Warren Galloway said he is concerned about safety if the campus is empty.
Erie County Mark Poloncarz says he's not surprised that Medaille is closing.
"We probably have too many institutions of higher education in Erie County based on the size of our population. I was hoping Medaille would survive, but it may not be the only one there could be others in the future."
Because he says too often we're seeing one college with multiple programs at multiple campuses.
“It's a privately owned property and I'd imagine that they would look towards selling that property, and that's when The city would have some involvement if the person who purchases it wants to rezone it and do something different," Delaware district Joel Feroleto said.
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