Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary has finalized the sale of its property near Mill Valley, Calif., setting aside funds both to purchase a new campus in Southern California and add $50 million to its endowment.
The sale agreement for Golden Gate’s Mill Valley property included a base price of $85 million, along with other terms financially advantageous to the seminary, including a favorable lease-back rate; the ability for the seminary to remain fully operational in the Mill Valley location for two years; and the seminary retaining revenue earned through rentals and other uses of the property during the lease-back period.
Jeff Iorg, the seminary’s president, said, “We are delighted this first phase of our relocation is complete.”
Board chairman Steve Sheldon added, “The board is determined the property sale will dramatically improve our long-term financial health. By adding this much to our endowment, we are accomplishing that goal.”
The board also approved an allocation of resources for new facilities in Southern California, Iorg reported. “Now that the sale has been finalized, we can conclude our agreements for the new campus and announce those in a few weeks. God is bringing this entire process together in ways we could have never imagined,” he said.
The seminary is finalizing plans for its new primary campus in Southern California and a new regional campus in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In commenting on the sale agreement, Iorg said, “There’s been much conjecture about the value of the Mill Valley property over the years. In reality, because of the development restrictions on the property, its value is less than some have speculated. We have tried for years to remove these entitlement restrictions, to no avail. We have watched with increased urgency as value has continued to erode because of these restrictions. This helps explain the necessity of our decision to sell the property.”
Two-year lease-back
“An indispensable part of the (sale) agreement is the two-year lease-back. We had to build the relocation process around the needs of students,” he said.
Golden Gate’s relocation plan, as it relates to students, has received a positive review by the staff of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the seminary’s regional accrediting agency, who affirmed the transition plan for its thoroughness and focus on students.
“Approved applications for fall enrollment are actually ahead of the same time frame last year,” Iorg said. “Given the breadth of our current transition, that is unexpected confirmation we are on the right track.”
(BP)
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