College selling one of its campuses

Harrison in running to buy it; school says tower has issues

North Arkansas College is trying to sell its downtown Harrison campus.

The proposed sale includes the five-story Tower Building, the Durand Center, a connecting atrium and the 2.6-acre site at 303 N. Main St. The Durand Center is a single-story conference and meeting facility.

The downtown campus is known as North Arkansas College’s Center Campus. Founded in 1974, North Arkansas College is a public two-year school with three campuses in Harrison and a Carroll County Center in Berryville.

A for-sale notice and request for proposal was posted Tuesday on the college’s website at northark.edu/ about-us/bid-opportunities. Deadline for bidding is June 25.

Last August, mold was discovered in the top three floors of the tower, which was constructed in 1981 to be a bank. Estimates for remediation and repairs ranged from $4 million to $10 million.

The tower was put up for sale, but there were no bids. On April 11, the college’s board of trustees voted unanimously to proceed with a plan to demolish the tower. A second board vote will be required to tear it down.

At the time, college President Randy Esters told the board it would take six weeks to tear the tower down, and he didn’t expect that work to begin before July 4.

In April, college administrators believed the Durand Center could legally be owned only by a governmental entity, but they have since learned the entire Center Campus property can be sold to a governmental or nongovernmental entity, according to a news release from the college.

At the April 11 meeting, the college board voted to proceed with negotiations for the city to take over the Durand Center. The trustees also voted to sell the parking lot adjoining the Center Campus.

Harrison Mayor Jerry Jackson said a plan was in the works to move City Hall to the Durand Center.

“I’m disappointed,” Jackson said Thursday. “I feel our chances of moving City Hall to the Durand Center are diminishing. I still have hope because it is the perfect place for us to be. It’s got everything we need. Plus it’s in the downtown area. And I really want to keep City Hall in downtown.”

Jackson said the Harrison City Council is committed to moving City Hall from its current location.

Esters said the original plan to demolish the Tower Building and transfer the Durand Center to the city is still viable, “but the college is obligated by due diligence to explore every option available.”

“While I will always regret losing the Center Campus, I do not want to regret the process we used to arrive at the decision to do so,” Esters said in an email.

At the the college’s monthly board meeting Thursday, Esters said North Arkansas College currently spends about $300,000 a year on Durand Center operations.

“When the convention and meeting spaces were part of a larger Center Campus operation, it served as a community enrichment function for the college,” he said. “As a standalone convention space, however, it does not fit our mission as a college.”

The college bought the Tower Building and adjacent Durand Center in 2005 for an estimated $1.2 million, according to Boone County real estate records.

Jackson, who is a real estate agent, said the college probably spent $4 million renovating the two buildings.

The property is being sold “as is.” It may not go to the highest bidder. The college reserves the right to reject bids based on a variety of factors, including intended use of the property.

If no acceptable offers are received for the entire parcel, plans to demolish the Tower Building will move forward, according to the news release.

“This has not been a fun or an easy process,” Esters said. “I am hopeful we are near a resolution that will benefit the college and the community as a whole.”