Robyn Hannigan, the president of Ursinus College since July 2022, has a vision that she hopes will allow the college to “map a future around real estate.”

She wants to push Ursinus forward by revitalizing the Collegeville downtown area around the campus and adding more shops, restaurants, and residential development along the main strip, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The college owns some properties along Main Street thanks to former Ursinus president Richard Paul Richter who ran the college from 1976 to 1994.

“He knew that at some point in the college’s future, there would be a need and a demand to change the use of those properties to benefit the college and the borough. That time is now,” Hannigan said.

The development plan, she said is a “true partnership” between Ursinus and Collegeville. She described it as the perfect blending of downtown destinations and parks and hiking trails.

She likened it to what Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster did.

Ursinus College, the Collegeville Borough leadership and the Montgomery County Planning Commission will be holding public meetings for the community and stakeholders in the next few months to lay out the details of the revitalization plan.

Read more about Ursinus College’s development plans in the Philadelphia Business Journal.