Over the past several years, the Ithaca College administration has bought a number of properties surrounding the college; most recently they purchased 917 Danby Road and 929-931 Danby Road in July 2023. The primary interest in buying these properties is to block developers from building in lots directly adjacent to campus. This will theoretically preserve the views from campus and the character of the college. It is understandable for the college to make efforts to stop developers from creating huge properties surrounding the campus, as they may not have the best interests of the college in mind. However, the college administration must establish and communicate plans for the properties in order to make the investments worthwhile. 

Currently, there are no clear plans for many of the properties; they were bought solely with the goal of blocking other buyers. Some of the properties have been used to temporarily house employees of the college and others currently hold businesses. Others still remain completely unused. If the college is going to invest considerable amounts of money in purchasing these properties, it is in the interest of the campus community that they are used either for its economic or academic benefit. 

As of October 2022, the college had seen a considerable decrease in enrollment of 22% between Fall 2018 and Fall 2022. The college administration has been consistently brainstorming ways to increase both enrollment and yield rate of students. The amount of students enrolling at the college is directly related to its funding and operating budgets, meaning that these have also decreased over the past several years. These properties are no small investment for the college, with some costing nearly $1 million. That is funding the school could use for better academic resources, athletic facilities, student housing, social justice and equity programs, sustainable transportation and more. 

If the college is going to be making considerable investments into local property, the properties should be used to create a better institution; perhaps they could house new labs, dorms or gyms. Perhaps more of them could be used to house new or existing faculty to ensure the college can support the professors and administration who are best suited to open positions, regardless of barriers those employees may face, like finding local housing. 

By building new, innovative facilities in these spaces, or at least giving them a designated purpose, the college could increase its appeal to prospective students directly and indirectly and in turn, raise its own income. Property should be an investment that not only blocks developers from ruining the view of Cayuga Lake, or otherwise building properties that would cause a nuisance to campus, but above all, betters the college and makes it a more attractive, successful institution.