Campus for sale! Why one college is selling everything

If you’re in the market for an entire university campus then you’re in luck.

It doesn’t happen very often but one college in Vermont, United States, is offering all of its facilities and buildings to the right buyer as the school permanently closed its doors last month.

Green Mountain College in Poultney announced its closure back in January, stating financial troubles and low enrolment as the reasons behind the decision. The closure ends a rich 185-year history at Green Mountain and assigns it to a collection of small schools that have been forced to shut up shop in recent years.

The beautiful leafy countryside campus includes all the college’s 23 buildings – all fully furnished.

These includes residential space for 654 students, all the lecture halls, cafeteria, library buildings, athletics facility, theatre, art studios and galleries, and a full working farm, all stretched out over a 155-acre campus.

Green Mountain was famous for its commitment to sustainability and was known for its high-quality environmental courses. Its campus reflects this being recognised as 100 percent carbon neutral and gaining it a place on the greenest colleges in the country list back in 2018.

“What Green Mountain has created on its Poultney campus is a quintessential New England experience,” said Christopher Sower, a senior vice president of Collier’s International, the real estate company handling the sale.

“While the college itself decided to close its doors following the Spring 2019 semester, I am confident we will identify a new user who appreciates and repurposes the quality infrastructure so thoughtfully put in place.”

Green Mountain’s sale is a harsh reminder of the other small private colleges that are struggling throughout the United States. The school joins the ranks of Newbury College, Mount Ida College, and Atlantic Union College, all of which closed or announced closures in the last year.

“The decision to close Green Mountain College comes only after a tireless pursuit of multiple options to remain open, including the rigorous search for new partnerships and reorganization of our finances,” Green Mountain’s president, Robert W. Allen, said in a letter announcing the news back in January.

“Financial challenges are impacting liberal arts colleges throughout the country and Green Mountain College is no exception. These financial challenges, the product of major changes in demographics and costs, are the driving factors behind our decision to close.”