The old adage: Things fall apart. It is relatively easy to raise money to build a new building, lots of excitement, cocktail parties, beautiful people everywhere. Try raising money for maintenance. Boring.... No glitz, no cocktail parties, no beautiful people...
I like that, it’s a good one. Colleges definitely see this. They’ll have a big ribbon cutting for the new giant glass science building, but no one cares at replacing the pipes in the 100 year old Old Main.
And the new ones fall apart faster than the old ones. I am active with church, hoa and a camp; all the same. You have to stay in top of maintenance and replacement.
Last I saw, St. Paul's in Virginia is an even more extreme example than Dowling. Nature had absolutely taken it back, the stadium was buried under trees and shrubs. Tall grass everywhere, new trees. It has a beautiful chapel that stood pretty ominously amid it all. I wouldn't want to go inside of any buildings though, they're almost certainly about to collapse.
Well's College in Aurora, NY is officially up for sale today. Right on the shore of Cayuga Lake. Anyone in the mood to ignore this article and go in on it with me? Lots of potential!
Ha! I was there last summer and have talked to a lot of people in Aurora. I can tell you everything in the article can be ascribed to Wells. Big zoning fight happening right now, too!
But yes, beautiful beautiful place, and so sad to see it go. Would love to see another school take the property.
I don't trust the town or village to utilize it properly, and I'm sure another college would meet the same fate as Wells, though perhaps Cornell could snatch it up and use it as a culinary extension school or something.
Landscaping is the least of the problems. If you're clever about what you plant, it can take care of itself. Permaculture is wonderful. And lawn mowing can be marketed as part of the experience, perhaps.
Zoning can be overcome by actually making it an educational institution with a broader mission than degrees.
The OP makes a lot of good points, but none of it is insurmountable.
I've been up there. You could easily let local vegetation take it back over. But then it wouldn't have much use as a place. If an org is prepared to take once of these over, it can work out. Happens all the time. But not just some bozos off the street with riding lawnmowers. A lot of issues.
I hope you're being facetious. I hope you realize that permaculture is not "letting the weeds take over" but a low-energy approach to landscaping and productivity that works with what tends to grow somewhere rather than against it.
Yes, there are challenges a couple of bozos can't face without thought, but again, not insurmountable, especially if the group of friends partners with established organizations to leverage publicity and funding beyond their own means to accomplish a vision.
Never underestimate the power of a small group to change things for the better. It's usually what does.
They will only do it if they aren't discouraged. Impossible has the same letters as I'm possible. It depends on what drives them, yes. It's difficult, yes. There are hurdles that can't be overcome without intentional thought, yes. But that's not proof that it can't happen.
While there are a batch of new colleges starting up, they are almost all tiny classical institutions, heading into a market segment where 300 is huge. Even if they could afford to buy and maintain a campus, nearly all of the ones coming available would be far too big for their needs for decades, with the possible exception of Magdalen College's.
Yes, they are smartly not taking on too much. A colleague of mine who studies the other side of the coin with these new colleges mentioned that Olin bought some small section of an old campus. But that's not always feasible due to location. Tough to find solution.
Dowling is interesting, because that's what happened in roughly the same timeframe to Virginia Intermont. Campus was bought by a Chinese company in 2016 with plans of turning it into an international business school. Nothing happened; everything slowly degraded until 2024, when a fire swept through and gutted the main buildings. Last I saw, it looked like the county was going to seize it and auction it off to pay the demolition bill.
Yes, I have been trying to keep track of these ones bought by Chinese companies. I have heard of a couple that have worked out but also seems like several had this same issue. Economics and timing were tough for some. The late-comers got hit with slowdown in China and then COVID.
Sounds like the best use of these old colleges is to turn them into modern forms of small villages, rather than actual colleges. But the zoning issue alone makes that impossible, if one isn't able to resist the law
There’s been a big community effort to buy Goddard College in Plainfield, VT and turn it into housing/relocate the town’s downtown which has been impacted by flooding, but so far nobody’s been successful
Ha, well maybe a little, but mostly seems like a lot of building space and potentially beautiful land for little money. But probably a maintenance nightmare.
I’d just turn it into to some sort of paintball/airsoft/haunted house event center where you can have battles and do crazy shit. Shit would be sick. The more derelict the better. Gut the buildings of anything valuable and send it. 😂 🤣
Agree that nostalgia and fondness lead people into financially terrible investments.
That said, if the price of a campus was low enough and the city was willing to give me what I asked for in terms of zoning variance, I could see the appeal of using this campus for my newly founded institution. Might even be fun to require the students to do some of the deferred maintenance.
A fascinating read! I'm of the unpopular opinion that higher education is in a bubble that could never pop and this a factor I've overlooked. Neglecting small maintenance issues—whether in a home or within the body—can lead to exponentially greater costs and consequences down the line. A minor leak today could turn into structural damage tomorrow, just as subtle heart irregularities can escalate into life-threatening conditions if left unchecked. In both cases, deferring necessary action to save money in the short term often results in paying tenfold later, both financially and in overall well-being.
If I were to entertain the thought of buying a college, I would lean toward acquiring a smaller, self-sustaining campus like an ashram, where both students and the surrounding community actively participate in its upkeep—whether voluntarily or through paid work. This model would prevent the institution from atrophying, ensuring that maintenance remains an ongoing, communal effort rather than an overwhelming financial burden.
A striking example of the consequences of deferred maintenance can be seen in the New York City subway system (MTA). Decades of underfunding and neglect allowed critical infrastructure to deteriorate, leading to severe service disruptions, increasing repair costs, and urgent emergency interventions. Only in the past decade have they seriously considered the situation. While the MTA has since made strides in addressing these long-standing issues, the failures of past leadership to commit to routine upkeep resulted in avoidable crises, proving that infrastructure, whether physical, institutional, or biological demands continuous attention to avoid catastrophic failures.
Why social media is so addictive; so many obscure things to find at 0325. Perhaps the dead schools could become sites for studies of plant recolonization ?
The old adage: Things fall apart. It is relatively easy to raise money to build a new building, lots of excitement, cocktail parties, beautiful people everywhere. Try raising money for maintenance. Boring.... No glitz, no cocktail parties, no beautiful people...
I like that, it’s a good one. Colleges definitely see this. They’ll have a big ribbon cutting for the new giant glass science building, but no one cares at replacing the pipes in the 100 year old Old Main.
And the new ones fall apart faster than the old ones. I am active with church, hoa and a camp; all the same. You have to stay in top of maintenance and replacement.
I almost mentioned something about that in the piece. But decided to cut since it was getting a bit unwieldy.
Many towns and cities turned down Carnegie libraries for that reason.
It does seem like this would make a beautiful passion project for someone with money. A school for the arts? A boarding school for troubled children?
Yes, I have seen the boarding school route, or at least conversions to high schools. The seem ideal for that use if not another university.
Last I saw, St. Paul's in Virginia is an even more extreme example than Dowling. Nature had absolutely taken it back, the stadium was buried under trees and shrubs. Tall grass everywhere, new trees. It has a beautiful chapel that stood pretty ominously amid it all. I wouldn't want to go inside of any buildings though, they're almost certainly about to collapse.
Haven’t had a chance to visit any schools in the South region. Maybe a summer trip. But sorry to hear about it. Putting it on my list.
Well's College in Aurora, NY is officially up for sale today. Right on the shore of Cayuga Lake. Anyone in the mood to ignore this article and go in on it with me? Lots of potential!
Ha! I was there last summer and have talked to a lot of people in Aurora. I can tell you everything in the article can be ascribed to Wells. Big zoning fight happening right now, too!
But yes, beautiful beautiful place, and so sad to see it go. Would love to see another school take the property.
See some of my writing on Wells here: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/11/01/road-trip-dead-and-dying-colleges-opinion
I don't trust the town or village to utilize it properly, and I'm sure another college would meet the same fate as Wells, though perhaps Cornell could snatch it up and use it as a culinary extension school or something.
Landscaping is the least of the problems. If you're clever about what you plant, it can take care of itself. Permaculture is wonderful. And lawn mowing can be marketed as part of the experience, perhaps.
Zoning can be overcome by actually making it an educational institution with a broader mission than degrees.
The OP makes a lot of good points, but none of it is insurmountable.
I've been up there. You could easily let local vegetation take it back over. But then it wouldn't have much use as a place. If an org is prepared to take once of these over, it can work out. Happens all the time. But not just some bozos off the street with riding lawnmowers. A lot of issues.
I hope you're being facetious. I hope you realize that permaculture is not "letting the weeds take over" but a low-energy approach to landscaping and productivity that works with what tends to grow somewhere rather than against it.
Yes, there are challenges a couple of bozos can't face without thought, but again, not insurmountable, especially if the group of friends partners with established organizations to leverage publicity and funding beyond their own means to accomplish a vision.
Never underestimate the power of a small group to change things for the better. It's usually what does.
I think you are wildly underestimating these spaces. But would love to see a group try and succeed, especially at Wells. The town deserves it.
They will only do it if they aren't discouraged. Impossible has the same letters as I'm possible. It depends on what drives them, yes. It's difficult, yes. There are hurdles that can't be overcome without intentional thought, yes. But that's not proof that it can't happen.
Na, this isn’t a LinkedIn motivational post. It’s reality of these places. Need to understand what it really takes. Seems to be missing.
While there are a batch of new colleges starting up, they are almost all tiny classical institutions, heading into a market segment where 300 is huge. Even if they could afford to buy and maintain a campus, nearly all of the ones coming available would be far too big for their needs for decades, with the possible exception of Magdalen College's.
Yes, they are smartly not taking on too much. A colleague of mine who studies the other side of the coin with these new colleges mentioned that Olin bought some small section of an old campus. But that's not always feasible due to location. Tough to find solution.
Dowling is interesting, because that's what happened in roughly the same timeframe to Virginia Intermont. Campus was bought by a Chinese company in 2016 with plans of turning it into an international business school. Nothing happened; everything slowly degraded until 2024, when a fire swept through and gutted the main buildings. Last I saw, it looked like the county was going to seize it and auction it off to pay the demolition bill.
Yes, I have been trying to keep track of these ones bought by Chinese companies. I have heard of a couple that have worked out but also seems like several had this same issue. Economics and timing were tough for some. The late-comers got hit with slowdown in China and then COVID.
Sounds like the best use of these old colleges is to turn them into modern forms of small villages, rather than actual colleges. But the zoning issue alone makes that impossible, if one isn't able to resist the law
I have seen some versions of this. One in Oklahoma. So definitely in the works
There’s been a big community effort to buy Goddard College in Plainfield, VT and turn it into housing/relocate the town’s downtown which has been impacted by flooding, but so far nobody’s been successful
Yes! Have been following that story. Seems like the alumni group was able to get it, but fell through. Hope it works out.
I never thought I should… but that sounds awesome.
Lured by the tempting siren song of reliving our college days!
Ha, well maybe a little, but mostly seems like a lot of building space and potentially beautiful land for little money. But probably a maintenance nightmare.
I’d just turn it into to some sort of paintball/airsoft/haunted house event center where you can have battles and do crazy shit. Shit would be sick. The more derelict the better. Gut the buildings of anything valuable and send it. 😂 🤣
ha, ok that would actually be really fun.
It’s a dream of mine. Real life COD map. 😂
Agree that nostalgia and fondness lead people into financially terrible investments.
That said, if the price of a campus was low enough and the city was willing to give me what I asked for in terms of zoning variance, I could see the appeal of using this campus for my newly founded institution. Might even be fun to require the students to do some of the deferred maintenance.
A fascinating read! I'm of the unpopular opinion that higher education is in a bubble that could never pop and this a factor I've overlooked. Neglecting small maintenance issues—whether in a home or within the body—can lead to exponentially greater costs and consequences down the line. A minor leak today could turn into structural damage tomorrow, just as subtle heart irregularities can escalate into life-threatening conditions if left unchecked. In both cases, deferring necessary action to save money in the short term often results in paying tenfold later, both financially and in overall well-being.
If I were to entertain the thought of buying a college, I would lean toward acquiring a smaller, self-sustaining campus like an ashram, where both students and the surrounding community actively participate in its upkeep—whether voluntarily or through paid work. This model would prevent the institution from atrophying, ensuring that maintenance remains an ongoing, communal effort rather than an overwhelming financial burden.
A striking example of the consequences of deferred maintenance can be seen in the New York City subway system (MTA). Decades of underfunding and neglect allowed critical infrastructure to deteriorate, leading to severe service disruptions, increasing repair costs, and urgent emergency interventions. Only in the past decade have they seriously considered the situation. While the MTA has since made strides in addressing these long-standing issues, the failures of past leadership to commit to routine upkeep resulted in avoidable crises, proving that infrastructure, whether physical, institutional, or biological demands continuous attention to avoid catastrophic failures.
I do love me a dream-crusher, nicely done 🤣
Hey even I day dream a out it! Ha
Why social media is so addictive; so many obscure things to find at 0325. Perhaps the dead schools could become sites for studies of plant recolonization ?
Maybe you’re using Christopher Brown, “A Natural History of Empty Lots”, in your classes …
I'm not, but I might need to add it now. Thanks.
Haven’t heard (or seen) that one! I know our uni takes great care to have native plants and grasses. Would be cool to see more broadly in the sector.
Good advice all, but I was thinking more modestly, like this $200,000 Alabama church with classrooms
https://www.cityfeet.com/cont/listing/265-middleton-rd-s-ohatchee-al-36271/cs33552295?sk=4e21f0f809d749c2ae0de909899b4e24
Shit, they should be giving them to us at this rate.