My Task: This was an exciting breaking story that I had the pleasure to write and cover. Birmingham-Southern had recently closed and Miles College, a smaller HBCU, had signed a letter of intent to purchase the campus. Miles College, located in a Fairfield, Alabama, a failing town held together barely by its college, left residents and local leader scrambling after this letter of intent had been announced. After trying to get one of the board members of the institution to comment, I was notified that they had been placed on a NDA, so I pivoted. I rang up the mayor, he had some intel and was not under an NDA.
While details of Miles College’s negotiations for the Birmingham-Southern campus have been kept highly confidential, Fairfield Mayor Eddie Penny said the HBCU will remain in Fairfield no matter what the outcome.
“They still are committed ... to the city of Fairfield. They are not going to be moving campuses, I’ve already has those conversations,” Penny told the BBJ Wednesday. “Matter of fact, they are getting ready to do some things to enhance it that will also be beneficial to the city.”
On Monday, Miles College signed a letter of intent to begin negotiations to purchase the recently closed Birmingham-Southern College.
Miles College confirmed the letter of intent was signed June 19; but declined any further comment, saying in an email that the college's employees are under an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) during the negotiating process.
A BSC spokesperson confirmed that its Board of Trustees had accepted a letter of intent from Miles College that allows negotiations to begin for the purchase of BSC's 192-acre campus, but also declined further comment.
Miles College has called the city of Fairfield home for more than 120 years since its inception in 1898.
“We would definitely not want to see anything happen to our prestigious HBCU that’s located within our city limits,” Penny said. “I know everybody’s concerned because of the significance of that institute being here for so long.
“I’ve been trying to reassure everybody that they’re negotiating, they’re talking, they just did a letter of intent, but it’s not like they closed on the property and getting ready to move next week.”
In fact, Penny said, the college is in the process of planning a redevelopment of their current campus, known as their North Campus or lower Nolan property.
“That’s why there’s really no doubt in my mind that they are a permanent fixture here,” Penny said.
Miles isn't the first HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) to make an offer on the BSC campus. On May 9, Alabama A&M offered $52 million in cash for the campus, but BSC didn't respond to the offer. AAMU reportedly made a second offer to buy the campus for $65.5 million after news broke that Miles was in negotiations to buy the campus.
BSC's campus is worth $55 million according to one valuation, with a liquidation value of $25 million.
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