Real Estate: A Fully Renovated College Campus – $0.00

They bought it for: $100,000.

Spent on renovations: $5,000,000 (US).

Acreage: 217

Buildings on site: 43

School auditorium seating: 2,400

Your cost: $0.00

Jerry Patengale, who was hired by the Green family to help find a new owner of a college campus in Northfield, Mass., points out the stone chapel that has once slated for demolition. Religion News Service photo by G. Jeffrey MacDonald.

The family who own the U.S. retail chain Hobby Lobby are behind this generous gift to the right organization.  It’s not the first time they’ve contributed significantly to the cause of Christian higher education with significant contributions to Oral Roberts University, Liberty University and Zion Bible College. Ironically, they aren’t college graduates themselves.

This Massachusetts campus was built in 1879.  Fifteen organizations were selected for initial consideration, but after that the Oklahoma-based Green  family will consider possibly hundreds of other offers. Their particular concern is seeing a Christian college or university established in the more secularized northeast United States. 

Obviously, an organization has to be able to respond swiftly to take advantage of an offer of this nature, while also being able to prove financial stability over the long term. But look again at the initial cost price; this is a good news story that rarely comes around. I can’t wait to see how this develops; and as a parent with a teen about to embark on a private Christian college education in the fall, I hope the organization in question offers tuition that is priced commensurate with the price they paid to acquire the property!

Read the story at Religion News Service.