BIDDEFORD -- Faced with a housing crunch, the fast-growing University of New England has decided that half of its junior class will live off the Biddeford campus beginning next fall.

The change will move students into the local housing market and could have a significant effect on downtown Biddeford and Saco.

UNE officials have been meeting with city officials and private developers to examine the possibility of converting some of the cities' empty mill buildings into student housing, but no agreements have been reached.

Until recently, undergraduates have been required to live on the UNE campus, about four miles from downtown Biddeford, until their senior year.

The school's plan for the 2008-09 academic year calls for 116 juniors to move into private housing and free up space in dormitories for younger students, some of whom are now tripled up in rooms designed for two people, according to UNE's Associate Dean of Students Daryl Conte.

The school's plan for the 2008-09 academic year calls for 116 juniors to move into private housing and free up space in dormitories for younger students, some of whom are now tripled up in rooms designed for two people, according to UNE's Associate Dean of Students Daryl Conte.

By 2011, Conte said, the university may have a shortage of as many as 474 beds on campus.

He said officials at UNE see their housing needs as an opportunity to forge closer ties with Biddeford, and possibly Saco, by steering students downtown, where they could help establish an urban center catering to a college clientele.

"That's their college town," Conte said. "The more of a presence we have down there, I think it benefits everybody."

Whether Biddeford will begin to feel like a college town may depend largely on whether developers will take the risk of building student housing in the city's empty mills. One developer who is in discussions with UNE said its unwillingness to make a financial commitment to a housing project makes it hard to proceed.

The school's housing shortage is driven by rapid expansion over the last several years.

In 2004, there were 1,035 students enrolled at the Biddeford campus, according to Alan Liebrecht, vice president for enrollment management. Next fall, UNE officials anticipate 1,606 students on campus.

The school's long-term plan is to stabilize at close to 1,800 students.

Many believe that UNE students could add vitality and an economic boost to downtown Biddeford and Saco.

Historically, UNE students have tended to bypass downtown Biddeford, which suffered years of economic stagnation, and head to Portland or Kennebunkport for shopping and entertainment.

With many building improvements and an influx of businesses, Biddeford is now experiencing an upswing and UNE students are being seen downtown more frequently.

Biddeford City Manager John Bubier said that moving a large number of students into the city center could be a big push toward revitalization.

"In my opinion, it will perk it up. It will become a busy, bustling business district again," he said. "It could be known as a college downtown."

UNE officials have been talking with investors in the $100 million redevelopment of Saco Island. Bob Martin, chief operating officer for the Island Point project, said his group has been discussing developing space for 150 students as soon as next fall. The project would be added to the group's original plan for loft-style apartments and commercial offices.

Doug Sanford, a developer in Biddeford, has been in talks with UNE about housing students in his North Dam Mill, where he got city approval recently for 40 residential units on the upper floors.

Though time is tight, Sanford said parts of the former textile mill could be turned into student housing by next fall.

To finance the project, Sanford would need a commitment from UNE to have a certain number of students live in the new units, he said, but school officials have been unwilling to do that.

"That's what's really going to move it forward," he said.

At this point, Conte said, UNE will refer students to downtown housing but it doesn't want the financial liability of committing to any of the development ventures.

He said the school intends to shift resources away from residential construction, after an expansion that more than doubled its number of on-campus dormitory beds to 1,200 in the last few years, and put money into new academic buildings.