Campus for Sale

Bennington College may sell its campus and then lease it back from wealthy alumni if its trustees approve an innovative financing plan. The Boston Globe reported last week

The proposal will allow the buyers of the campus to take advantage of lucrative tax deductions based largely on property depreciation that are not available to the college. The scheme is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, although the form of financing known as leveraged lease--is common among non-profit institutions.

Bennington will in effect receive an interest free loan in the form of payments for the campus from the alumni. The subsequent lease payments will be akin to an extended payback of the initial loan

The school has commissioned an appraisal of the campus to determine its market value, which school officials estimate to be between $3 and $8 million

Bennington has been running at a deficit for the past several years and is currently $2.5 million in debt.