Bard College has become a major real estate player in Hudson, N.Y., after receiving 82 properties worth $82 million from the Galvan Initiatives Foundation. The liberal arts school, located 20 miles away in Annandale-on-Hudson, suddenly inherited storefronts, apartments, and public-use spaces from the city's largest private property owner.

Residents are anxious about the change, with many tenants worried about potential displacement or conversion to student housing. Galvan's portfolio included subsidized apartments for low-income residents and historic buildings like the Armory, which housed the public library. The foundation's opaque operations and rapid property acquisitions had already made it controversial in Hudson's evolving landscape.

The gift jump-started Bard's $1 billion endowment campaign, which includes a $500 million matching pledge from George Soros's Open Society Foundations. Bard has retained most of Galvan's staff and emphasized it's still gathering information about its plans. The Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition is pressing the college for transparency, citing concerns about gentrification similar to university expansions in Manhattan and Boston.