1st time on campus in 2 years

[78crusader]

Walked all around campus yesterday morning. First time in 2 years.  Thoughts:

The new Phi Psi frat house is a very welcome addition (are there plans for other frat houses?)

Mound Street is a complete disaster zone.

Other than the Chapel, the Welcome Center is the best building on campus.

Old Campus does not have a future. The law school building and Heritage Hall are lonely outposts.  If VU were to repurpose those buildings, there would need to be an effort to connect them to the rest of campus - which would require, among other things, doing something about Mound Street and putting up an academic building in the large vacant lot across from the old Theta Chi house.  The amount of money that would have to be invested in this area would be enormous - and would probably be better spent on the main campus.  The sorority houses will soon mark the official end of the west side of campus. 

There are zero planters on campus and you have to look pretty hard to find flowers, other than some occasional roses and day lilies that appeared to be in desperate need of watering.  Much work needs to be done in this area.  A couple of large garden areas would add a welcoming touch. 

Signage on the ARC would be nice.

The university has done a good job over the last 20 years of putting in trees.

Lankenau Hall has to go.

More vacant lots on McIntyre.  Not a good look for the University.  I know that a well respected and experienced developer of upscale houses visited VU about developing the street and making it a showpiece entrance for the school - but was shot down after a polite but brief meeting.  He is still interested - and VU's lack of interest in this potential project is mystifying.

Paul

[vu72]

Walked all around campus yesterday morning. First time in 2 years.  Thoughts:

The new Phi Psi frat house is a very welcome addition (are there plans for other frat houses?)

Mound Street is a complete disaster zone.

Other than the Chapel, the Welcome Center is the best building on campus.

Old Campus does not have a future. The law school building and Heritage Hall are lonely outposts.  If VU were to repurpose those buildings, there would need to be an effort to connect them to the rest of campus - which would require, among other things, doing something about Mound Street and putting up an academic building in the large vacant lot across from the old Theta Chi house.  The amount of money that would have to be invested in this area would be enormous - and would probably be better spent on the main campus.  The sorority houses will soon mark the official end of the west side of campus. 

There are zero planters on campus and you have to look pretty hard to find flowers, other than some occasional roses and day lilies that appeared to be in desperate need of watering.  Much work needs to be done in this area.  A couple of large garden areas would add a welcoming touch. 

Signage on the ARC would be nice.

The university has done a good job over the last 20 years of putting in trees.

Lankenau Hall has to go.

More vacant lots on McIntyre.  Not a good look for the University.  I know that a well respected and experienced developer of upscale houses visited VU about developing the street and making it a showpiece entrance for the school - but was shot down after a polite but brief meeting.  He is still interested - and VU's lack of interest in this potential project is mystifying.

Paul

I'm looking forward to getting back to campus for Homecoming.  Paul, some interesting comments!  There are some really great buildings now on campus and still some relics like the old dorms.  Old campus is an enormous problem/opportunity and I certainly don't have an answer.  When you consider than other than the Sig Ep house on Mound street and my aunt's house on Linwood (she is 100 and I know the University has already expressed an interest in buying her home), everything else is already owned by the University. 

I think there are long term plans to continue to build fraternity houses along Union (Sigma Chi owns the lot next to the Phi Psi house) and that's all about money. Phi Psi just happened to have an alum contribute over a million to get the thing launched.

So what to do with the rest of the area?  I remember having a discussion with then Dean of Engineering and now Provost Eric Johnson, who said one idea he had heard was to develop a retirement community in that area.  It makes a lot of sense, with priorities being set for Valpo alums.  Other than the weather, being in a small town with easy access to a very big town while having the resources of a University with D1 athletics, high quality music and continuing education opportunities makes a lot of sense.  Other universities have done this including Notre Dame, Florida and Penn State.

Here's an article about the benefits of this:

https://www.theseniorlist.com/retirement/best/university/

[crusader05]

I agree with McIntyre. I'm not sure what is going on there. I know some houses are owned by the university and rented/leased out to staff and faculty and the President now also lives there in the brick house on the corner across from GM. I do believe though that they do not own all and that they have been tearing down houses as they can but I don't know the overall plan for it. I agree some sort of nice maybe 2 story apartment/condo housing would be lovely both for staff and perhaps graduate students as well. Maybe a few restaurants or ::gasp:: a campus bar. Could do wonders for sports events as well.


I do love the Welcome Center but I feel like the new Science Building is my current favorite both for the huge art piece (I feel like most newer buildings like arts and science, welcome center, and now sciences all have a defining art piece and I hope that continues) and the open windows and just general atmosphere of it.


No comment on the landscape which I believe was poor when I was there as well and I agree on Old Campus. It's been effectively cut off and unless you grow graduate programs enough to house them there I'm not sure what else you can do with them.


The plan is for more greek houses to be built but that depends on the fraternities themselves raising the money. I know Sigma Chi currently has the option to build on the land next to Phi Psi and I believe that the plan for Theta Chi (if they return) is to have them tear down the old house and build a new one there. Sig Ep also have the option to build on the land that faces Union Street across from where the old Maria Elenas was so we could effectively have a nice little Greek Row there if the fraternities can raise the money.


I agree on Lank needing to go as well but can't see that happening, more likely there would be a refurb ala Berg Hall.


Also, did you see the new Disc Golf Course? It runs across the grass closest to 30. I've driven by several times and seen people out on it playing. Unsure if they're students but I think it's a nice, unique addition to campus and hope they find other ways to bring fun small things that can make campus feel a bit livelier(an issue that was there when I was around in the early 2000s).

[78crusader]

Condominiums or apartment units along McIntyre will not get the job done. This is the street that leads directly into campus, and it needs to be special IMO. The developer who met briefly with VU had designs for homes in the 400 to 500k range. This is a street that calls for nice, quality single-family homes - there are several houses along the street that are nice and of good quality, make no mistake, but not enough of them. Throw in the vacant lots, which are increasing in number, and this is a problem that the university needs to address.

The appearance of McIntyre takes on even more importance when you consider the area just west of the main campus, which, let's face it, is full of dilapidated houses - and even more empty lots.

The area surrounding VU, taken as a whole, simply does not look prosperous.

I neglected to mention in my original post this morning one other observation, which for me is a pet peeve: during my tour of VU's 310 acre campus, I did not see a single American flag.

Paul

[crusadermoe]

Downtown has become very upscale, even more so since 10-12 years ago.  By contrast, all of the property nearrt to VU along Lincolnway is pretty sketchy and the hospital move has left a huge gap.  The old K-Mart is still vacant with its huge torn up parking lot. 

The Uptown Apartments are nice looking of course.  But posters on the other topic mentioned the very low occupancy. Several storefronts were vacant at street level. Very sad. How do you fix this other than raising enrollment?

[valpotx]

Where was there a K-Mart?  I don't even remember such a thing during my time on campus in the late 90s/early 2000s.

[elephtheria47]

Kmart was on the north end of town on Calumet. Where the new roundabout and Starbucks are now.

[talksalot]

The Parking lot was for the 3D department store that was taken down 10+ years ago...  (Danner Brothers for you region rats)...

 

[bbtds]

Here's what the old 3D sign looked like (Danners Discount Department)





This particular sign was from the former store in Lebanon, Indiana but at one time Valpo had a store much like this one in that parking lot across from the Uptown Apartments on Lincolnway.

[valpo tundra]

Regarding McIntyre Court, I`m not sure what is so mystifying.  The University owns all but one parcel on the west side of the road and a little more than half on the east side.  Eventually, campus buildings will be built and the road might cease to exist as presently used. Why would they choose houses, therefore, that would disrupt this master plan?  Also, traditionalists such as 78crusader(Paul) will be surprised when they come back in another two years given that the new class of students is less than 20% Lutheran.  As valpotx has often noted, the percent of "unchurched", or agnostic continues to rise across society including college age youth.  Going after the dwindling supply of Lutherans certainly would be one approach.  Wait for an interesting cultural announcement in the next week or two to understand the alternative.

[crusadermoe]

Crusader78's post above might have missed some American flags. Who knows?

But if indeed they are wholly absent, let's hope the American flags are not absent on campus because flags might "trigger" some of our precious snowflake students. 

Various TV shows interview students on campuses who will mention their shame to be Americans.  Gads.

[vusupporter]

There's literally an American flag right outside the ARC.

[78crusader]

Wasn't up the day I was there.

Even if it had been, one flag in a 310 acre campus isn't exactly overwhelming.

I was on another, smaller college campus recently. I counted four American flags flying.

Paul

[crusader05]

I believe our ROTC students do the lowering and raising of the American Flag on Campus. I wonder if, with it being a time when students weren't on campus, they didn't have put it up. It's up now.

I don't know the arbitrary number of American Flags that it should be acceptable for a campus to have but I"m pretty sure when I was there 20 years ago it was still just the one flag pole plus the ones in the ARC for games.

[crusadermoe]

 Thank you for adding some wise quotes to the board.  If as "VU22" you are in fact a '22 senior it is a very helpful perspective to hear.