Christian college sizes up potential suitors

Being the only girl at the dance has its privileges.

Atlanta Christian College officials were feeling the love from all sides on Monday as Newnan and Peachtree City pulled out all the stops in trying to attract the relocation of the small college from Atlanta’s southwest side. The school, which anticipates a tripling of its growth, announced in May that it would choose between Peachtree City or Newnan, with a final decision as early as late October.

Meanwhile, personalized bus tours of each municipality, plus video and slide presentations, have been aimed at the college officials.

“We’re a small college,” said Dean Collins, Atlanta Christian College’s interim president. “So to do something as monumental as relocating our entire campus, it requires a partnership. It’s very expensive to do higher education. We’re looking for a city that will partner with us and really want their college.”

Founded in 1937, Atlanta Christian College (ACC) currently serves about 400 students at its East Point campus near Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta.

Future plans to expand to 1,200 students prompted school officials to seek potential new campus sites that could handle the school’s increased needs.

The overall economic impact could be $25 million for whichever community is chosen, officials from the two localities have estimated.

Newnan wasted little time first putting on its best face earlier Monday. A morning tour of Ashley Park, the city’s new shopping upscale area just east of downtown, was followed by a 10-minute video presentation and a quick look at the city’s quaint downtown area.

Hoping to sweeten the deal, city officials unveiled their plans to expand public transportation and set aside the 9,300 square feet of the second floor of the Wachovia Building as a school library.

Additionally, a number of downtown merchants have agreed to honor student meal plans at their establishments.

Not to be outdone, Peachtree City answered in the afternoon with a more comprehensive, $70 million plan in three phases that eventually would provide ACC with entirely new facilities in Wilksmoor Village on the city’s west side.

Peachtree City officials cited the affluent city’s demographics, low crime rate and high standard of living in making its case as a natural fit for the college. Ninety-two percent of the graduates of the city’s two high schools go on to college.