<p>The Boston Globe has a 3 part series that began last Sunday on the sorry state of off campus student housing in downtown Boston. It's very long and includes videos. It should be required reading for any parents with children thinking of moving off campus. You need to do your homework before signing a lease.</p>
<p>The Boston Globe is a paid site but you can read 10 free articles a month.</p>
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<p>BC has been trying for years to build more dorm space. But the local community, comprised of tenant owners, objects. (Of course they do, if BC builds dorms, they lose rent-paying tenants and their “investments” decline!)</p>
<p>Wow. I watched the first part. What a terrible situation. I wish the universities would buy some of these houses and run them themselves. I happen to know, though, that they are very expensive. Years ago I lived with roommates in an apartment in a 3-family house in Allston/Brighton. This house was lovely, not at all dilapidated, but I’m sure it was not up to code. It burned down several years after we moved out. </p>
<p>My daughter rents an apartment on the top floor of an old victorian house that has been converted into apartments. It looks a lot like the apartments in the video - a classic fire trap. It has sprinklers and fire alarms, but it’s hard to tell if everything works - the smoke detectors do work, I checked. I bought her one of those emergency ladders which she keeps in front of her bedroom window…every so often I text and ask her if it’s still there RIGHT IN FRONT of the window and she says it is. I urge all parents of students in upper floor apartments to get a ladder.</p>
<p>I watched a special about this, last weekend, I believe. Just horrendous, death-trap living conditions for these kids, subdividing and subdividing living quarters. Only one method of egress. Illegal. Housing Dept in Boston can’t possibly keep up and only respond to complaints about these living conditions. Students tend not to complain because “the price is right.”</p>
<p>I read all three parts of the series. Horrible! wonder if the expose will result in Boston changing its ways? But probably not, as colleges seem to be ignoring the issue. Gourmetmom, that is an excellent suggestion about emergency ladders!</p>
<p>Building dorms is not only a problem for BC. Northeastern’s new dorm is nearing completion after being delayed 2 years due to NIMBY’s using every legal trick possible to kill the project. The NIMBY’s ultimately lost. These were the same NIMBY’s who were demanding that Northeastern move students out of the surrounding neighborhood. </p>
<p>Most BC students live on campus rather than off campus, hence, the need to improve housing. Here is an excerpt from the letter we just received from BC President Leahy, updating the BC community regarding housing:</p>
<p>Quote: " May, 2014
Dear Members of the Boston College Community: </p>
<p>The 2013-2014 academic year will soon come to an end, and I write to provide an update on Boston College.
To increase campus housing for undergraduates, the University will begin construction next month of a 490-bed residence hall at 2150 Commonwealth Avenue, the site of the former More Hall. This project should be completed in summer, 2016. </p>
<p>In addition, the University has begun planning to turn the University-owned apartment building at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue into an undergraduate residence hall, develop fields for baseball, softball and intramurals on the Brighton Campus, and remodel 2101 Commonwealth Avenue (the former residence of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston) into the new home of the McMullen Museum of Art. Conceptual design work has also begun on a new student recreation building to be located where Edmonds Hall stands today." Unquote.</p>
<p>Well, that’s good to know. Too bad it took this expose to make it happen.
Last year, D was living in a similar house, lovely old Victorian but…12 roommates in an entirely wooden structure. She had a second egress from her room, a balcony. We still bought her the escape chain ladder for use from the window. She didn’t need it thankfully but the house burned to the ground a few months ago. Similar to the fire described in the article - starting in the attic room. Miraculously, no one was hurt</p>
<p>My kid is about to begin college at tufts. I’m hoping the off campus apts in Medford aren’t as bad as what was displayed in that video. This situation is sickening. </p>
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<p>Actually, BC has been trying to obtain approval from the City to change 2000 Comm Ave - a building that BC owned – into student housing for several years. The City refused to approve the occupancy permit, until just recently (and $$ into City coffers?).</p>
<p>btw: families and students are also partially responsible. In the case of BC, the College sends out notices to parents of rising Juniors – those that typically live off campus – about the City law of a max of 4 students per apartment. It also requires all students living off campus to attend a meeting where the legalities are discussed. Yes, they are indestructible college kids, and they tend to ignore the law. But the point is that local colleges do share that information with students. The students and their families choose to ignore it (for all kinds of reasons, including $$).</p>