The MATC Times received a “Letter to the Editor” from a concerned faculty member, Elizabeth Franczyk, who believes that Westown Green, MATC’s student housing facility, is failing to efficiently serve MATC’s students. To summarize the parts of her letter, Franczyk focuses on the confusion and lack of communication regarding rent. Franczyk writes, “In December 2021, just six months into its existence, we reported problems regarding confusion on rent payments. And here we are, over two years later and we are being told by those in charge that the situation is very ‘nuanced’ and they are still figuring things out.” Franczyk also touched briefly on the failure to serve families, with the apartments being strictly 18+. Coincidentally, one of our MATC Times staffers, Elsa Marks, has already written an opinion piece on Westown Green and its need to be accessible to a wider variety of students (refer to pg 2.). These concerns that were brought to our attention encouraged the MATC Times to do a deeper dive into the student housing at Westown Green.
First, I want to be clear that in no way is this meant to be a hit piece, and that it is a struggle to mix two opinion pieces into a non-partisan style overview. However, I do find it necessary to include the opinions, as they are a part of the whole story. Second, Westown Green is a new project, opening only three years ago in August of 2021. With any new project, there will come difficulties and unforeseen issues, we at the MATC Times understand this very well.
The MATC website describes Westown Green as “an amenity-rich, unit-style student apartment building with room to serve nearly 200 students from colleges and universities throughout the Milwaukee area. Students who live at Westown Green enjoy easy access to transit, the vibrant Deer District, Pere Marquette Park, 3rd Street Market Hall, the Riverwalk and so much more! On-site amenities include fully-furnished apartments, quiet and active study lounges, a club room, a fitness center, an on-site computer lab, and access to the campus shuttle route for MATC students.” This description would lead one to believe that Westown Green is a wonderful apartment complex that anyone would be lucky to stay in, but with the concerns that were brought to the attention of the MATC Times, I decided to find out for myself.
I took to the apartments on the official move-in day and was, maybe naively, surprised to see a wonderful welcome crew. There were student employees moving boxes and working welcome stands full of merch and snacks, and the apartments themselves seemed spacious, modern, and perfect for a traditional college student. During my visit to Westown Green, I found a new student/tenant, Jameson Hottinger, who was willing to give a small interview for the Times. Here is a transcript of our interview:
- How are you paying for rent?
I am grateful to say I am having my rent paid through the Checota scholarship.
- Is your living space big enough?
The room is the perfect size, plus the building is huge.
- Were your roommates assigned or did you choose them?
I was able to choose one of my roommates and the other two were assigned.
- What is your favorite part of Westown Green?
My favorite part is that it’s not very loud in the building!
- Do you think living in student housing will make it easier to focus on school?
Yes, because you have people who are in the same program and want to succeed with you.
After my visit, I’d say the website described the building perfectly. The location in the heart of downtown Milwaukee is perfect, the amenities are well maintained and up-to-date, and not to mention the rent is roughly half of what some of the other apartments in the area are offering. I left Westown Green wondering why people would complain about such a nice place for such a low price.
I felt like I had enough information to write my story, but then Yolanda Hodges, Student Ombudsperson (essentially our student complaint/conflict mediator), walked into the MATC Times office. She was there on non-Westown Green-related business, but in our conversation, she mentioned that she was giving a “how to handle conflict with roommates” presentation at the Westown Green tenant orientation, attempting to proactively assist students at Westown Green who are having roommates for the first time. This orientation seemed like a great time for me to head back to the apartments and get some more information.
The first person who spoke at the orientation was Haley Weber, Student Resource Coordinator. Weber spoke candidly and seemed to truly care about the students, as she started the orientation off with a heartfelt message, “We want to support you and make sure you stay safe here at Westown Green.” The next person who spoke was Justin Johnson, the property manager. This is where my journalistic brain started turning. Who better to ask about the concerns at Western Green than the property manager himself? I sat patiently through the rest of the orientation, but I was admittedly distracted, focusing instead on how I would pose my questions to Mr. Johnson.
After the presentation, I found him in his office and explained the article that I was writing. I asked Johnson for any comment on how Westown Green gives students an advantage or why the pros outweigh the cons. Unfortunately, Johnson seemed completely uninterested in providing any insight. To paraphrase his response, these were concerns he has responded to in-depth and often, and he wasn’t interested in responding to them again.
Understanding that the beginning of the semester, and orientation day specifically, may be extra stressful for a student-housing property manager, I offered no rebuttal. I simply thanked Johnson and made my way to the exit. I couldn’t help but wonder if his refusal to comment on concerns raised by students was an example of the lack of communication mentioned by Franczyk in her letter, or simply a genuine and tired answer of a man who has been relentlessly pelted with concerns and complaints. In the end, I think Westown Green is a great option for our traditional students, and I think that the members of MATC who have voiced their concerns about Westown Green are also justified – I believe these two things can be true at the same time.
