The Quincy Housing Authority plans to purchase the 27-acre campus of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, for $21 million. The college closed last year after years of declining enrollment and financial difficulties. The housing authority intends to develop affordable senior housing and renovate properties to support first-time home buyers, pending approval from the Massachusetts attorney general, according to livemint.com.
Eastern Nazarene College, located about 10 miles south of Boston, shuttered due to significant financial headwinds and demographic shifts. The Quincy Housing Authority, a non-profit addressing local housing needs, stepped in after previous deals to redevelop the campus fell through. These included a proposal from an alum and real estate developer to build hundreds of housing units and a rejected city council plan to buy the campus due to concerns over incurring debt, livemint.com reported.
The sale reflects a broader trend of abandoned college campuses across the U.S., with over 50 institutions closing or merging since 2020 amid mounting debt and shifting demographics. This has placed thousands of acres of educational real estate on the market, creating opportunities for redevelopment focused on housing. Quincy’s plan aligns with efforts to address affordable housing shortages in suburban areas near major cities like Boston, livemint.com noted.
The Quincy Housing Authority’s acquisition awaits approval from the Massachusetts attorney general. The campus’s redevelopment into affordable senior and first-time home buyer housing aims to repurpose the site while addressing local housing demands, according to livemint.com.