UB-Sponsored Housing Program Set to Begin Soon

The wheels are in motion for President William R. Greiner's employer-assisted housing program to go into effect.

The plan, which is aimed at improving the University Heights area by encouraging UB employees to purchase residences in the area, is slated to begin in the next few weeks. UB employees who purchase a home in the area will be guaranteed loans by the university.

"We're within spitting distance of it," Greiner said. "I think it will be of reasonable interest to many people at UB."

According to Dale Landi, vice president of special projects and programs, anyone employed by UB for 20 hours a week or more will be eligible to participate in the program.

"We would like to maintain the stability and vitality of the neighborhood, and we would also like to assist employees that want to own homes," said Landi.

Landi predicts that 10 or 12 university employees will participate in the program during the first few years. He said the program should start to catch on in the spring, when the real estate market in Buffalo usually picks up.

"We already have 350 employees that live in the area, so there is reason to assume that there will be some demand for employees to own housing in that region," Landi said.

According to Land, when UB guarantees a loan, the school agrees to compensate the bank should the borrower default.

"This will allow employees to purchase homes with no money down," he said. "It helps some employees get into home ownership when they might not otherwise be able to."

Aside from helping employees, UB administrators believe the project will be helpful to the Heights community.

"It is another one of the good things that we can do to be a good neighbor," said Greiner.

Michael Shade, a senior early childhood education major, said he was worried the program would deplete student-housing availability in the area. In addition, he said faculty members with families might not be happy if they lived in the area.

"With all the bars and the kids down here, I think (university employees) would complain," Shade said. "It's a tough place to live with a family."

University District Councilwoman Betty Jean Grant also believes the new initiative will benefit the University Heights area.

"It's a big plus, and I wholeheartedly support it," Grant said. "It is probably the best thing to come out of UB in a long while. There are a lot of vacant, one-family homes in the area, and we need to fill them with stable, middle-income families."

In addition, Grant said the plan would improve strained relations between the university and neighborhood residents.

"This is a good first step to cementing the relationship between UB and the University Heights," she said. "It has been a contentious (relationship), because many residents blame UB for the problems in their neighborhood."

Cheryl Dorrenbacher, a Faculty Student Association employee, said she would not participate in the employer-assisted housing program.

"I have concerns about that neighborhood, given the crime," Dorrenbacher said. "Also, I already have a first-time home in Kenmore. You can buy a first-time home pretty easily around here, anyway."

John Bennett, a senior mathematics major, said he questions why professors would want to live in the Heights when their salaries could afford them a higher-quality residence elsewhere.

"Too many non-professors live (in the Heights)," Bennett said. "It's a party atmosphere here. Professors are too mature and older and have different interests."

Bennett also said that if professors resided in the area, their accessibility to students outside of the university might result in unfair favoritism toward students who can visit them at home regularly.

Evan Goldman, a junior business major, said he was interested in the prospect of living among his professors.

"I know a lot of cool teachers here, so I think it would be kind of fun," Goldman said. "But it might be a little weird."

Greiner said the employer-assisted housing program is only the beginning of the university's commitment to the Heights area.

"This will be an ongoing process," he said.