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Miles College has signed an agreement to buy the 192-acre campus of Birmingham-Southern College—which closed abruptly earlier this year due to financial issues—Al.com reported.
Though the purchase price was not disclosed, the campus was recently valued at $65 million. Alabama A&M University had also expressed interest in buying it, reportedly offering $52 million for the site in May and then $65.5 million in June, local media reported.
Miles, a historically Black college, is located less than 10 miles from Birmingham-Southern.
BSC’s sudden closure came after officials undertook a yearlong effort to keep the campus open, which included legislation proposed by BSC alumni to create a unique state loan program for struggling private colleges. However, Alabama treasurer Young Boozer III, who oversaw loan applications for the program, denied BSC’s request for $27 million. Birmingham Southern officials accused Boozer of undermining the Legislature and acting in bad faith in denying the loan; he argued that BSC represented a “terrible credit risk” and lacked collateral. The college closed a few months after the loan was denied.
Birmingham-Southern officials said in a statement they were pleased with the sale of campus.
“Our hope has been to find a buyer whose mission paralleled BSC’s mission of educating young people for lives of service and significance, and whose presence on the Hilltop would also benefit the surrounding communities who have been such good neighbors to BSC for more than 100 years,” the college’s president, Daniel B. Coleman, said in a statement. “With its roots in the Methodist tradition of service and its commitment to preparing young people for lives of leadership, Miles College fits that description. We will continue to work diligently with [Miles College] President Bobbie Knight and her team to ensure a smooth pathway to closing the sale.”
