Miles College’s bid to buy shuttered Birmingham-Southern College’s campus fell through after the purchase agreement between the two expired Monday afternoon.
The two Alabama institutions had been working together on the sale of Birmingham-Southern’s 192-acre campus since May, when the college permanently closed in response to persistent financial distress.
According to a Monday statement from Birmingham-Southern, the two institutions executed the purchase agreement in September, with an original closing date of Oct. 25. Miles asked for and received an extension on that agreement, but Birmingham-Southern declined a second request by Miles to extend the closing date to Dec. 24.
“The BSC community has great respect for Miles College, its students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and appreciates both the shared roots and the alignment of missions,” the institution said. “But to meet its commitments to lenders and other creditors, the BSC Board of Trustees is obligated to sell the 192-acre campus property as quickly as possible.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Miles said, “While we are certainly disappointed by the pause in our efforts to acquire the Birmingham-Southern campus, our commitment to growth and expansion remains steadfast.”
The college added that it plans to “continue to explore every avenue to secure this opportunity in the future.”
Miles, a private, historically Black institution in Fairfield, Alabama, announced the deal shortly after it was put in motion in September. At the time, Miles President Bobbie Knight called the agreement “a significant next step in our vision to lift our college, campus, and community.”
The deal centered on Birmingham-Southern's physical property, last valued on its balance sheet at $64.8 million. The college still exists as a corporate entity as it works on the sale of its property, and it will need to work on a plan for its endowment with the state attorney general once a sale is finalized.
