If one thing’s for certain: college kids in Tallahassee love Collegetown. With the numerous changes the community has undergone in the past few years, Collegetown is undeniably a staple neighborhood for Florida State University (FSU) students.
Collegetown is located on the city blocks between Gaines Street, West Madison Street, Woodward Avenue, Lorene Street and Collier Street. The first development of Tallahassee’s Collegetown was completed in 2013. It has been broken down into three phases (for construction of apartments and other amenities) with phase one in 2013, phase two in 2016, and phase three around 2020. Before the development of Collegetown, the space was occupied by empty warehouses and just a few local restaurants. In theory, it was just another underdeveloped area near a major university. The goal in building Collegetown was to create an urban environment where students felt a sense of college excitement and community off campus, and that goal was achieved.
Collegetown has everything a college student could want. Local clothing boutiques and businesses such as Tally and Fin, Ooh La La Boutique and Barefoot Campus Outfitters gain so much recognition because of their central location near FSU. You can easily grab a bite of sushi at Little Masa’s or Cajun food at Coosh’s. College kids repeatedly gather around the bars and restaurants such as Madison Social and Township on game days and weekends. (Go Noles!)
Aside from stores and restaurants, entertainment can be found in places such as Recess (a nightclub). It keeps college kids busy on Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, and of course on Sunday Funday. Hotels such as The Hotel Indigo are in the heart of Collegetown which makes for a perfect place for parents and prospective students to stay when visiting Tallahassee, showing them the most college-esque neighborhood vibe for a university to be around. One of the most crucial parts of Collegetown’s popularity is the apartments that college students can rent. The Madison, The Flats and The Odyssey are the Collegetown apartments that FSU students conveniently live in.
Collegetown has become such a high-demand space for students to live in because it is literally in the perfect location. There is no need to drive or Uber to clubs, restaurants or shops because everything is within a small radius of each other. The convenience and quirk of Collegetown are that you can literally eat lunch, buy clothes, get eyelash extensions, go grocery shopping, and fix a broken phone screen all in between your classes. Your bed, your university with 45,000 students and your spray tan girl (shoutout to BB Studios) are all within a mere walking distance of one another.
The development of Collegetown also helps the city of Tallahassee because of the revenue it brings in (generating millions in taxes for Leon County). Let it not go unnoticed that millions of dollars went into the construction of Collegetown with the funds of the Seminole Boosters.
Collegetown has become a hub for college students to eat, drink, shop, and live. It has become such a popular spot because your apartment, restaurants, grocery and clothing stores are all in very short walking proximity. It is not just the convenience that makes people love Collegetown, it is the lively environment and fulfilling feeling of being a part of a population with so much spirit.
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