The campus of the former Southern Vermont College is back on the market.
A New Hampshire boarding school has backed out of a $4.9 million deal inked three months ago for the shuttered college’s main Bennington campus. SVC officials and the Pike, New Hampshire-based Oliverian School had agreed to a 90-day due diligence period on the 371-acre parcel on Mansion Drive.
“During this process, we came to love both this stunning campus and the Bennington community,” Will Laughlin, Oliverian’s head of school, said in a statement provided by SVC trustee chair Dave Newell. “But after a rigorous examination, we have determined that the economics of this wonderful campus do not work for Oliverian School at this time.”
The Bennington Banner first reported the Oliverian deal had fallen through. In a brief interview, Newell declined to elaborate much on the statement issued by SVC, other than to say the “project was just a bit too big” for the small boarding school, which was hoping to expand substantially in its move to Bennington. The Banner’s article quoted an email from Laughlin to the Oliverian community which also expressed concerns about the school’s maintenance and repair costs, particularly where the former college’s Everett Mansion is concerned.
“On behalf of the SVC Trustees and the Bennington area at large we wish to express our regret that Oliverian will not be purchasing our campus and joining our community,” Newell said in the statement. “We enjoyed meeting and working with several members of the Oliverian senior management and trustees, and did our best to provide them all of the information they requested.”
Oliverian plans to remain in Pike for now, according to Laughlin.
At the time the offer was announced, Newell said the deal was the only “serious” offer SVC officials had received. He said Wednesday the school didn’t currently have any additional buyers waiting in the wings. The campus is being marketed by TPW Real Estate, a Manchester real estate firm.
SVC announced in March that it would close at the end of the academic year because of financial pressures tied to declining enrollment. It was ultimately one of four Vermont colleges that closed their doors or announced they would merge last year as a long-simmering demographic crisis came to a boiling point.
SVC also isn’t the only former higher education institution with Vermont property for sale: Green Mountain College in Poultney is also looking for a buyer. Real estate agents marketing both campuses have said most of the interest is coming from private K-12 schools, as well as international immersion programs.
The Bennington college has had a messy wind-down. Its officials are facing three separate lawsuits – two by former benefactors seeking to void their donations, and one by David Evans, its last president, who is now working for American University in Bulgaria.
The sale’s dissolution leaves SVC officials with few options to settle the school’s debts and outstanding lawsuits. The Oliverian deal had been approved by both Community Bank and the Bank of Bennington, the school’s main creditors, to whom the school owes about $6 million collectively. Frederic Poses, one of the SVC donors suing the school, had also approved Oliverian’s offer, Newell said in November.
