Concordia’s Purchase of Second Campus a ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity’

一年前, 康考迪亚大学欧文分校的领导层甚至没有考虑购买另一个校区. But an unforeseen opportunity, 主的引导, 以及战略要员的领导使得康科迪亚公司以43美元的价格收购了.5-million building which Dr. 迈克尔·托马斯称之为康科迪亚历史上最重要的发展之一. “从本质上讲，我们的教室和办公空间增加了40%的平方英尺。. 托马斯说. “这座建筑让我们以全新的方式思考我们可以启动的项目. It will allow us to accelerate our plans to grow health-care related programs. 它将把我们的时间提前十年，因为我们不需要重新利用校园里的建筑，也不需要通过审批程序来改造它.”

购买前, Concordia’s campus building space totaled around 280,000平方英尺, which includes every internal space except residence halls. The new building adds 113,882 more square feet in a three-story building on 6.6 acres at the corner of Alton Parkway and Laguna Canyon Road, 毗邻Kaiser Permanente Irvine医疗中心和Hoag医院. Just three miles from the current campus, the facility comes with a 690-space parking lot and parking structure. 它位于康考迪亚-光谱校园™规划区的拉古纳峡谷路16355号. 幸运地, the building is zoned for education, as it was previously occupied by another university. 它有20个特点,000平方英尺 of furnished, state-of-the-art nursing teaching space 和更多的 than 90,000平方英尺 of 教室, 办公室, 工作站, and unique educational spaces. This new building will house Concordia’s growing Accelerated Bachelor of Science in 护理 (ABSN) program as well as other academic programs and university 办公室. The ABSN program will move to the new location this summer, and other 办公室 and programs will follow in the coming months.

But the major purchase began with a minor crisis last summer.

对空间的需求

Concordia’s growth has been “a tale of restrictions,” says Dr. 托马斯。. “Restrictions on the number of cars allowed on campus, and the amount of parking. Restrictions on the growth of academic programs, especially graduate programs.”

One pressing example is the nursing program, which is growing and requires additional square footage for labs, 教室, 和办公室. 当它在附近一栋办公楼租用的空间需要更新时, the new lease price was substantially higher, and there was no room to expand. 蒂姆Odle, Concordia’s vice president of university operations, 博彩平台推荐, 以及注册服务, 一位经纪人开始在尔湾寻找其他可以容纳护理项目发展的地点. 当一切似乎都不合适时，经纪人问康科迪亚的领导层是否考虑过收购. 另一所大学正在出售一栋用于护理和医学教育培训的大楼, then essentially vacated in early 2020 with the advent of COVID.

“When we walked through the building, it was quite eerie,” says Dr. 托马斯。. “许多日历仍然转到2020年3月，因为人们已经离开，再也没有真正回来. In the nursing skills labs, 床和人体模型都在那里，所有的考场和护理教室都在那里. 我们简直不敢相信.“还, “We all thought the idea of buying it was little bit insane, 就像, ‘How can we honestly do this?’”他说.

With other investors circling, the prospects for success seemed daunting. But Concordia had just hired Steve Strauch, an expert in these kinds of deals, to be its vice president of finance — and Strauch, 有在路德教会扩展基金(LCEF)和其他金融机构工作的经验, 看到了前进的道路. “It penciled out, financially,” Strauch says. “我们可以把支付租赁费的钱用在我们拥有的一栋会升值的大楼里. It was also a way to diversify our investments. 我们把它提交给校董会的财务委员会，然后为它祈祷, 问, ʻIs this where God is leading us?’ The farther we went down that road, I was always anticipating a roadblock, but every roadblock that came our way was removed quickly.”

Because of its strong financial footing, 康科迪亚公司从路德教会扩展基金(LCEF)获得了4500万美元的贷款，条件诱人。. 巴特的一天, LCEF总裁兼首席执行官, says the purchase was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Concordia, 在校园附近找到这种类型的财产和空间，用于您想要扩展的项目. 有能力获得这块土地，并在未来10年或20年为大学制定方向，因为他们扩大了这些项目——我们认为这是一个他们不能错过的机会.“还, closing on the property was never certain. 斯特劳奇说:“这些真正的大交易通过的几率是20%或30%。. “I always knew this thing could go off the rails at any moment. I just kept watching it stay on the track and saying, ‘哇. 哇.’” Dr. 托马斯。 calls the confluence of factors and people “a God thing.他说:“上帝在合适的时间给了我们合适的人和合适的环境。. “在整个过程中，每一堵墙、每一个障碍几乎都没有被推倒. 这很了不起. 我们所做的每一件事，我们走的每一步都让我们确信，上帝的手在引导着这个过程.”

偶然发现的, the building closed on the day of Irvine’s State of the City address, which Concordia co-sponsored. 那天晚上, 市长在演讲中宣布康科迪亚公司已经购买了这座大楼，并指出这是对欧文劳动力的重大承诺和投资. The property will be called the Concordia - Spectrum Campus™. Concordia’s original site will be called the Turtle Rock Campus, after the Turtle Rock area of Irvine where it is located.

彼得Senkbeil, vice president and special assistant to the president, is leading a task force on how to use the building. 我很惊讶. 我很激动. 我从没想过我们能以这个价格在这个地方买到这种设备,Senkbeil说. “It’s everything we were hoping for. 这几乎是上帝的奇迹，当所有的部分都到位时，我们能够得到它.” In addition to the building, the Concordia - Spectrum Campus™ comes with all existing furniture, 固定装置, and equipment which includes nursing beds and mannequins, 教室里的家具, 计算机技术, 投影仪, 白板, 和更多的.

“It’s incredible, the opportunity this new campus provides,Senkbeil说.

八月开始, 康科迪亚ABSN项目的学生将在康科迪亚- Spectrum Campus™上课. Additional health care programs are in the works, 该大学正在制定一项护理理学硕士(MSN)的提案，该提案将允许毕业生获得家庭护理从业人员的认证.

研究生 programs within the School of Health and Human Sciences, as well as other health care related programs, may one day relocate there, 靠近Kaiser和Hoag医院，为学生实习和临床任务提供了潜在的机会, 使康科迪亚能够考虑与其他医疗保健计划进行扩展的计划.

现在, personnel are working quickly to prepare the building for the fall semester, re-carpeting, and re-painting the interior in Concordia green and gold. The building will house on-site IT personnel, cleaning and maintenance staff, a campus safety representative, an administrative staff head, and property management staff. Parking for Concordia community members will be free. Chapels will be streamed, and food services will be available.

康考迪亚大学的本科生和在线学生将不受影响. 无本科课程, 类, or residential halls are slated to be housed at the Concordia - Spectrum Campus™. Per the terms of the purchase agreement, 前业主将继续租用该建筑的一层，为期约18个月，期间他们将过渡到新设施.

Financially, there is “tons of upside for the university,” Day says.

收购Concordia - Spectrum Campus™的同时，校董会刚刚在2月份通过了一项新的战略计划，以指导大学度过其50周年纪念日及以后.  托马斯说，康科迪亚已经准备好进入下一个主要阶段，成为美国西部的康科迪亚:“我们已经准备好进入我们自己的阶段,他说. “这次收购使我们能够扩展新的学术课程，以满足整个地区的劳动力发展需求. And as a Christian university, 我们感谢上帝为康考迪亚光谱校园™打开了巨大的祝福. 

 

IRVINE SPECTRUM®和SPECTRUM™是经许可使用的IRVINE管理公司的商标.