(Host) The Union Institute will be selling off part of the Vermont College campus in Montpelier. The Institute’s Board of Trustees has approved selling eight of the 19 buildings that make up the campus.
Only one of the eight buildings is currently being used by the university for educational purposes. The remaining buildings are leased to private tenants and several non-profit organizations. According to Union Institute spokesperson Christine Howard, all of the buildings to be sold are wood-frame. Most of the remaining buildings are brick, which widens their potential use.
Howard says the sale will help the Institute invest in a new conference and training center, and in renovations to the dormitories.
(Howard) “The dormitories were designed for the traditional 18 to 22 year old student in the forties and fifties. So you can imagine, they’re very stark, small rooms. We want to change that to a living situation. While our programs are on campus, that’s much, much more attractive to the adult learners that come to us.”
(Host) Howard says that she has notified the current tenants, but the properties have not yet been listed on the market.