Goddard College in Plainfield on June 22, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
Goddard College’s board of trustees announced on Monday that its second plan to sell the defunct institution’s campus has fallen through.
“Unfortunately, we have just been informed that the Greatwood Project/Collective Well partnership has been unable to secure the necessary funds to purchase the Goddard College property,” Lisa Larivee, clerk of the Goddard board of trustees, wrote in a press release on Monday morning.
The board is now exploring “a range of alternative options to sell the campus,” which includes “engaging with multiple potential buyers who have expressed interest in acquiring the property,” she wrote.
Goddard College closed in the spring after persistent declining enrollment caused “financial insolvency,” the board announced at the time. The number of students dropped from 1,900 in the 1970s to 220 during the most recent academic year.
In July, a buyer was on the precipice of purchasing the school, but the school would not name them, sparking concern and criticism from community members. Then, in mid-July, the deal fell through, and the board invited previously interested parties to present new bids for the campus.
Those bids needed to include “a firm closing date between August 1 and August 15,” and full payment at closing “with no financing contingencies,” Kenneth Macur, the school’s interim chief financial officer, said in an email to potential bidders.
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In July, the Greatwood Project, a group composed of community members with ties to Goddard College and investors, announced that the board had accepted its $3.4 million bid to purchase the campus.
The group had planned to use the 117-acre property, which spans the towns of Plainfield, Marshield and East Montpelier, to partner with “host towns, community groups, native communities, nonprofit and for-profit organizations” for purposes including “economic, housing, community and cultural development, educational innovation, and historic preservation,” the group said in a press release on July 31.
When asked for an interview, Larivee wrote that the board “doesn’t have any further information to share.”
Kris Gruen, a member of the Greatwood Project, said a subset of the project, called the Greatwood Group, is “still working to pursue the sale.”
“The Greatwood Group’s goals for acquiring the campus remain protecting a community resource, bringing money into the area, fostering arts and culture, providing facilities for educational programs, developing affordable housing, and supporting local business aligned with our vision for building local resiliency,” Gruen wrote in a text message.
Asked whether the group was actively working with the board on the sale, Gruen said the group remains hopeful.
“If and when the Greatwood Group can successfully organize and confirm the board’s asking price, we will present our offer,” he said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Goddard College campus sale falls through for the 2nd time.