It’s been clear for a decade or more, writes Steve Litt for The Plain Dealer, that neighborhoods around colleges and universities offer some of the hottest development opportunities in American cities.

But it took three freshly minted graduates of Oberlin College starting in 2002 to see the potential in a vacant former Buick dealership on the tattered eastern flank of downtown Oberlin.

Ten years ago, writes Andrew Michler for Inhabitat, three college students had a vision to reclaim a stagnant downtown area in Oberlin, Ohio—in a couple of months that vision will become reality. Sustainable Community Associates has developed a $15 million LEED Neighborhood Development Gold (pending) project with perseverance and good will for their alma mater’s hometown. Now the downtown is getting hooked on green building as the community discovers the positive impact that sustainable development can have.

In this quaint but economically stagnant college town 50 miles southwest of Cleveland, Ben Ezinga, Joshua Rosen and Naomi Sabel spent their first four years as typical liberal arts college students, going to class, writing papers and looking forward to graduation. Their last four years in Oberlin, however, have been spent learning hard lessons in real estate, writes Lisa Chamberlain for The New York Times.

East College Street Project

The Plain Dealer: “Oberlin College graduates bridge town-gown divide”

Inhabitat: “Oberlin’s LEED Development Revitalizes Community”

The New York Times: “Young, Idealistic and Now Developers”

Sustainable Community Associates is a community development firm focused on invigorating main streets and revitalizing urban areas in socially responsible and sustainable ways.

To date, the team is responsible for Fairmont Creamery, Wagner Awning, Mueller Lofts, The Tappan, The Lincoln, The West 17th Street Townhomes, and their original development, the East College Street Project.