Wells College has agreed to sell its former Aurora campus for $12.5 million.
The college’s board of trustees says it has signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge, which plans to open an Indigenous college in the village and convert some former residence halls into apartments. College officials say the bid was selected based on the price, the size of the deposit, and the proposed timeline to close the sale.
The institute’s chair and president, Les Lo Baugh, says his organization was notified in December that its offer had been accepted, and the agreement was signed this week.
The sale includes the campus and its buildings. The Community Medical Center and Peachtown Elementary School will be allowed to continue operating on the property. The deal also includes furniture and most of the books from Wells College’s Long Library, though children’s books and the rare book collection are excluded.
Wells College closed at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year, and the sale marks a major step in the school’s wind-down process.
