Morris Brown College got court approval Thursday to market and sell its property through a real estate broker. But whoever wants to buy the property will have to deal with the college’s neighbor, too.
The college plans to sell much of its 36-acre campus, and has already begun marketing the property. Facing about $30 million in debt, the embattled institution filed for bankruptcy in August 2012.
Morris Brown has been trying to sell its property for a year, according to court documents filed this week, but two previous deals fell through.
With the court’s permission granted, and pending a March 21 deadline for any objections to the sale, the college would likely set an April 30 deadline for bids. If more than one qualified bid is received, the property would be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Tied up in the sale is an agreement with Clark Atlanta University involving 17 acres the university long ago gave Morris Brown. The agreement requires the land be used for educational purposes, or be returned to Clark Atlanta.
“Up until now we haven’t had a dog in the fight, but now dogs may start barking,” said David Wender, CAU’s attorney. Despite the stake in the land, Clark Atlanta has not considered purchasing any part of Morris Brown, a university spokeswoman said.
Whatever the outcome of the planned property sale, Morris Brown intends to continue operations. The goal is to find a buyer that could possibly donate or lease part of the campus back to the school, said Anne Aaronson, the college’s attorney.
Attorneys handling the case also presented bills for thousands of dollars in legal fees on Thursday. Many of those fees could be paid by revenues generated from the property sale.
Still to be resolved are challenges by former employees who say they lost their jobs when Morris Brown filed for bankruptcy in 2012 but have not been paid wages they are still owed, and dispute amount of payment the college says is owed to them.
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