College Town, USA

COLUMBIA — Walking along Ninth Street in downtown Columbia, one can find three music venues; four coffee houses; and 13 restaurants and bars.

These businesses, which cater primarily to the college crowd, are located within the 43-square blocks known as the Special Business District. Within the business district are about 70 restaurants and bars and approximately 110 shops, said Carrie Gartner, director of The District.

Within walking distance of these businesses are about 33,000 students and 13,000 full-time faculty and staff from MU, Stephens College and Columbia College. Regional Economic Development Inc. estimates that MU students spend about $255 million per year off-campus in Columbia.

Sales in 2007 in the Special Business District reached $13.6 million. That produced sales tax revenue of more than $1 million, Gartner said.

“The university and colleges are the engines that drive the economy for Columbia. ... If you remove them and the students, then the entire economy would take an enormous hit,” said Adam Dushoff, co-owner of Addison’s: An American Grill, 709 Cherry St.

Kurt Mirtsching, director of marketing for Shakespeare’s Pizza, estimates that one-third of its revenue comes from the students, faculty and staff.

Although a portion of The District’s total revenue can be attributed to students and faculty, another portion can be attributed to the campuses in a broader sense.

“Say the university holds a conference, which brings in a lot of people,” Dushoff said. “If those people go out to eat, that is money generated because of the university.”

Pat Garrnett, with the Baymont Inn & Suites Hotel, estimates that 75 percent of its business is created by people who are in Columbia because of university and college affairs.

Another way the campuses indirectly affect the economy is through the added diversity that students bring to the community.

“It allows us the opportunity to have a wider range of businesses than other towns our size,” Gartner said, “The three colleges combined have well over 10,000 faculty and staff of all ages and backgrounds, so we can better support restaurants like International Café and Bangkok Gardens or markets like Chong’s Oriental Market and Campus Eastern Foods that are more diverse in their offerings.”

Additionally, Gartner said, “If we were a town of 90,000 with no colleges, we’d definitely have fewer bars and entertainment venues like Blue Note, Mojos and Ragtag.”

Richard King, owner of the Blue Note said, “I think I would be a fool to not recognize the students and what they add to the city of Columbia.” He estimated 60 percent of his business comes from students.

Another way that the university and colleges contribute to local economic development is in the number of jobs they provide for residents.

MU and MU Health Care are the two largest employers in Columbia, according to REDI. They provide work for approximately 24 percent of the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Columbia, according to 2006 census data. Additionally, Stephens and Columbia colleges provide approximately 470 full-time jobs for residents.

Inevitably, the three schools play direct and indirect roles in the local economy. Columbia’s economy is intermingled with the university and other colleges, said Mirtsching, and it is often difficult to separate them.

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