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Smith: Students yielding to home rehabbers

I can see it on the nightly news:
An army of middle-class people marches on the student neighborhood south of Regent Street. They’re armed with paint scrapers and floor sanders and wearing tool belts and Menards’ hats. And they’re chanting: “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Student housing’s got to go!”

Since UW-Madison planners first talked about a Workforce Housing Initiative to encourage employees to buy and rehabilitate dilapidated student housing in the Vilas and Greenbush areas, they’ve been swamped by people who want to sign up.