Sage Real Estate Strategies, the Seattle-based firm with the disposition assignment, sent out the offering in August 2003 to some 230 public and private universities, commercial colleges and high schools. In September, he extended the deadline for offers through the middle of October. "We won't know definitely if we have a sale until all due diligence issues are identified and resolved," says Trinity board chair Ernie Fosse.
The college's low density campus includes 220,000 sf in eight buildings situated on 28 acres that could hold still more buildings, plus two wooded six-acre parcels that do not yet hold any buildings. Current facilities include classrooms, three chapels, dining rooms, an auditorium, residence halls, gymnasium, indoor swimming pool and fitness center.
Sage principal Jim Norman tells GlobeSt.com that the value of the property to an owner/user is in the mid-$20-million range, which is about one half of what it would cost to reproduce the campus on raw land. He says the ultimate agreement between Trinity College and City Church will be a lease with an option to buy, providing time for Trinity to find a new, larger location and time for City Church to build a congregation at its new location.
Trinity, a four-year, regionally accredited independent college, offers majors in Biblical Studies, Christian Education, Early Childhood Education, Multicultural Studies, Music & Worship and Youth and Family Ministry. In a press release, the college says the offer meets its requirements "to remain on the Providence Heights campus for up to five years in order to secure a new campus and relocate to a site capable of supporting enrollment of 200 full-time equivalent students."
As part of the eventual agreement, Trinity Lutheran College and the City Church will co-exist on the property during the transition period. City Church says it hopes to finalize the agreement by this summer and launch operations on the site by this fall.
Trinity president John Stamm says it is relocating its current campus because it wants to be in a more urban setting. "We want to be much closer to a large city," he says.
Norman says Sage is evaluating appropriate relocation sites for Trinity from Marysville to Tacoma, but won't get serious about it until after the sale, which will determine how much it has to spend. Ideally, the college wants to find 100,000-125,000 sf with nearby access to recreational facilities.
The college is entertaining all options, adds Norman, from taking over an old hotel on the Interstate 5 corridor that has lots of meeting (would-be classroom) space to renovating an old building in Downtown Seattle or Tacoma. "We are looking for a re-use opportunity and we are looking in the broadest sense," says Norman.
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