Are you in the market for an indoor swimming pool? What about a library or a 400-seat theater? Perhaps 33 classrooms? Or maybe a piece of property that has all of these, and a carbon-neutral heating system as a bonus?
That's what's on offer in the auction of Green Mountain College's campus in Vermont, with the bidding starting at $3 million.
The defunct liberal arts college and its 155 acres will go to auction on August 18 at 1 p.m., according to a news release from Maltz Auctions. The property was appraised in 2016 at $20 million.
Green Mountain College announced the closure in January 2019, saying the campus and its operations were no longer financially viable. The nearly 200-year-old private college in Poultney was known for programs in environmental and social sustainability.
“I’m sad for the faculty and staff because they’re from this area, and they’ve grown up here, and their kids go to school here,” said senior Chelsea Wimble at the time. “It’s just so devastating.”
When it closed, it "literally changed the entire town of Poultney," said hair salon owner Mel Kingsley in September, as the town was figuring out how to adjust to the loss of Green Mountain College.
Green Mountain was one of several New England colleges to announce they were closing that because of money problems. Small colleges across the country had faced major challenges from shifting demographics, rising costs and drops in enrollment in recent years.
According to the auction house, Green Mountain's former campus is home to ski, hike and bike trails. The listing notes it's 40 minutes from Lake George, 75 minutes from Albany, New York, and 3 hours from Montreal. The listing suggests a future as a religious compound, assisted living center, summer camp or addiction retreat.
“We are pleased there was great interest in this property as it represents an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire an environmentally sustainable, green campus that is superbly located and beautifully maintained in a single transaction," auction house CEO Richard Maltz said in a news release.
