Aquinas College, a former Catholic institution in Newton, is being put on the sales block by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
A school is out in Newton – out for sale. The shuttered Aquinas College is being made available by the Sisters of St. Joseph, an Allston-based Catholic order that owns the campus near Newton Corner. Wyman Street Advisors of Waltham has been retained to peddle the asset, principal Charles E. Batchelder Jr. acknowledged last week.
“It’s one of the nicest sites available within Route 128,” said Batchelder. The property encompasses 100,000 square feet and features such amenities as 30 well-maintained classrooms and an 850-seat auditorium, while Batchelder noted there is also substantial parking available on the 6.2-acre parcel.
Given the existence of several schools in the surrounding area and the continued use of the erstwhile Aquinas campus for learning purposes through a multi-year lease with a Jewish day school, the property is initially being marketed to teaching entities, said Batchelder, a goal further motivated by the mission of his clients to support the academic environment.
“That is the preference,” said Batchelder, adding that he believes the marketing effort will uncover serious prospects from that arena. “I do think [demand] is going to be there,” he said, citing the plethora of academic institutions in the area, plus the chance a new player could enter the market from outside the region or the country. One observer predicted the asset could trade for upward of $20 million. No asking price is being tendered, said Batchelder, but he called it “an opportunity for an academic user to get a school in excellent condition [for a price] well below replacement cost,” perhaps as much as 30 percent to 40 percent less than what it would cost to construct today.
Trying to gauge market demand for such a specialized property can be challenging, but some real estate professionals active in helping academic institutions find space indicated last week there are requirements that might find the Newton campus a good fit. GVA Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Stevens Vice President Christopher McMahon, who represents the real estate needs of several academic and nonprofit clients, is among those familiar with the former Aquinas College. “It’s a really great property,” said McMahon, praising its location in the heart of Newton and the turnkey aspect that could allow a user to quickly begin operations following a purchase. “You could start teaching there the next day,” he said.
Greater Boston’s reputation as a Mecca for educational institutions increases the chances that an academic requirement might be identified, opined McMahon, although he said his current roster of clients would probably not be candidates for the Newton opportunity, with most of those focused on downtown Boston. McMahon also said he believes the bigger challenge for the owners of the Newton property might be in fending off alternative suitors, maintaining that residential developers likely would be attracted to the parcel.
“Clearly a lot of developers are going to look at that site and think it would be a perfect place to put town homes,” he said. Besides the other nearby educational operations, including the Jackson School, the Aquinas site is situated in the midst of a large residential neighborhood.
Gearing Up
While concurring that the property would serve as a prime candidate for conversion to residential, particularly given the Newton address, Batchelder stressed that the academic world will be targeted at the outset. The sales effort is just beginning, but Batchelder said his real estate services firm is gearing up for an aggressive marketing campaign.
“We’re expecting a good response,” he said.
One element that could provide a favorable outcome in finding a buyer is the surging enrollment of schools stemming from an increase in population of school-age children and young adults, a phenomenon expected to continue at least through the end of the decade.
Ironically, it was a dearth of available students that spelled the end for Aquinas College, which operated under various names since the mid-1950s, primarily as a two-year women’s college providing instruction in secretarial skills. As its core constituency thinned out due to a combination of demographic changes and alternate professional opportunities becoming available for women, Aquinas College struggled to keep afloat until the Newton campus was finally closed in 1998. Another campus in Milton also foundered, with that facility finally closing in 2000 after graduating a final class of 68 students. The Milton property now serves as home to Fontbonne Academy, which is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Despite the demise of Aquinas College, the Newton campus has remained active thanks to the lease to the Rashi School, an institution catering to some 300 students from kindergarten through grade eight. The founders of the Rashi school inked a five-year lease with the Sisters of St. Joseph in 2000 and now have several one-year options remaining, although Batchelder said he does not believe that the arrangement will steer potential buyers away from the opportunity.
