Denton's Fry Street (Denton Record-Chronicle)

The city of Ardmore and its current higher education campus, AHEC, are in the midst of making fundamental decisions about the placement of the new campus, destined to become a full four-year university. The primary suggestion to build a campus in the Ardmore Regional Park is, unfortunately, shortsighted and ultimately establishes the new AHEC as just another commuter campus, with almost none of the elements that more established university towns (Stillwater, Denton & Austin immediately come to mind) come to pride themselves on, namely a "campus culture" and a veritable "nightlife," for lack of a better term. The presence of a strong campus within the central areas of these respective communities has given a sense of identity to the cores of these cities, and greatly expanded the tax base and revenue capabilities of the rejuvenated areas as well. In addition to the financial benefits that a centrally located four-year university brings, it also brings fresh faces and young professionals into the community, which ultimately leads to an economic renaissance in the areas immediately adjacent to the campus. A campus in Regional Park would also certainly provide economic benefits to the area, but they would remain dispersed, given the nature of the location within a large park that is off-limits to development. A campus in Downtown Ardmore, however, would serve as a catalyst for future growth and rejuvenation of the historic core, and could give rise to loft apartments, high-end retail shops and boutiques, and cultural nodes of activity such as theaters, bars and cafes. A downtown campus would also capitalize on the extant infrastructure (e.g., the Amtrak station, streets & sidewalks) and reestablish Downtown Ardmore as the center of activity for Southern Oklahoma.

Why does Downtown Ardmore need a university? Well, despite the best attempts of those involved with the Ardmore Main Street program, downtown remains a shell of its former self, even in light of the aesthetic enhancements that have taken place over the last few years. Save for the attention lavished on historic communities like Ardmore, the economic 'renaissance' has rung hollow and resulted in little beyond a few antique shops, the ephemeral headquarters for a couple of political parties squaring off every couple of years and, of course, bail bondsmen and attorneys' offices. This largely hinges on the fact that, in most cases, few (if any) people live downtown, and fewer still have any reason to go shop or eat there. Still, the fact remains that the demand for authenticity and urban living in today's sprawl of lookalike suburbs & towns is quite obvious, given the cultural and economic activity that has occurred around Denton's Fry Street, Stillwater's Washington Street or Austin's infamous 6th Street. Ardmore could join these towns, albeit on a much more local scale, if only it would locate the catalyst of a university nearer to its historic core. Should Ardmore choose to go this route, it could immediately start recruiting students that might otherwise seek the true "college life" of other towns and project an image that attending college in Ardmore is a choice, rather than a result.