In Brockport, a generations-old tradition of students renting rooms and apartments in the village could be on the verge of a shakeup.

More than half of the 2,589 housing units in the village are rentals, says the 2000 Census, and SUNY Brockport students are a significant part of that population. They patronize businesses and add to the village's diversity. But some students' lifestyles - particularly loud partying and related rowdy behavior - are in conflict with the more peaceful atmosphere desired by other villagers.

Occasionally, that clash feeds into a wider controversy around the condition and regulation of rental properties in the village.

But there's a quieter trend in Brockport's rental market that's become apparent to residents, officials, and landlords.

"There's too many rentals and not enough tenants," says Carol Hannan, a Main Street resident who has lived in Brockport most of her life.

Students have traditionally been drawn to the freedom and self-sufficiency of off-campus living. But now they are gravitating toward the college campus, says Brockport Mayor Mort Wexler. And that is creating less demand for village apartments.

New campus facilities are, at least in part, driving that. Last year, SUNY Brockport opened a new townhome complex for students. It has 54 units, each unit housing four students.

Those units, Wexler says, drew the interest of upperclassmen who may have otherwise rented an off-campus apartment. With more new student residences planned on campus there's a good chance, he says, that a growing number of students will choose college housing over a village apartment.

The college's new townhomes filled up quickly and there's a waiting list for the coming year, says John Osowski, SUNY Brockport's director of planning and construction. Plans are in the works for another similar residence, with construction possibly starting in 2010.

"We're doing a marketing study now to make sure it is economically feasible," Osowski says.

The college also has plans to renovate two of its residence halls over the next two years.

SUNY Brockport has about 2,500 beds for students and each year they fill up, Osowski says. Only out-of-town freshmen are required to live on campus. The rest can live wherever they choose.

The college has 7,000 full-time-equivalent students.

It's possible, Osowski says, that more students are choosing to live in apartment complexes outside of the village. And the reason, he says, could be as simple as amenities like on-site laundry.

There's a worry that vacant apartments could lead to property neglect. If a landlord's not making money on a property, that can strip away the incentive to maintain it. Residents and village officials don't want to see properties deteriorate and home values decline.

Brockport Trustee David Wagenhauser says that the new dynamic presents an opportunity to bring more families into the village and that officials should work with landlords and property owners to help improve houses.

It's not as if all the landlords are negligent - the village has really only had trouble with a rogue few. What the village wants, says Wagenhauser, are people who are going to "do it right."

"There are quite a few nice rentals," Hannan says.

There are also a handful of people like Hannan who have purchased former rentals for the express purpose of fixing them up. When Hannan is done renovating the property she purchased, she plans to sell it as a single-family home.

But Brockport's a college town and there will always be a market for college students who want an off-campus pad, Wagenhauser says. And, he says, that's a good thing.

"It adds to the diversity," he says.