Edinboro residence halls OK'd for sale aren't for sale yet though enrollment is sliding
EDINBORO — Two former Edinboro University residence halls authorized for sale by the State System of Higher Education 18 months ago are not on the market.
At least not yet.
The future of the Highlands 7 and 8 residence halls is yet to be determined, according to Pennsylvania Western University officials. Edinboro University was consolidated with Clarion and California universities to become PennWest on July 1, 2022.
"The previous board action was needed for the university to explore options for the property," PennWest spokeswoman Wendy Mackall said, referring to the April 2022 PASSHE Board of Governors vote authorizing Edinboro University to proceed with the buildings' sale.
"With the July 2022 integration, PennWest began operations and is currently reviewing its overall physical space across the three campuses. This strategy will help inform any next steps related to the Highlands properties," Mackall said.
The buildings aren't needed, according to the sale proposal presented to the Board of Governors last year. Just 1,065 students were living in campus residence halls at that time. With space for 1,843 students, Edinboro's residence halls were at less than 58% occupancy. And that was causing a further drain on university finances, including $800,000 in annual maintenance and utility costs.
Buildings not needed as enrollment decline continues
The eight-building, $115 million Highlands residence hall complex was built between 2008 and 2011 in the largest construction project in the university's history. University enrollment at the time was growing, reaching a record 8,650 students in fall 2010.
Since then, enrollment has steadily declined, to a combined 11,305 students at the Edinboro, California and Clarion campuses of PennWest this fall. That's down 1,473 students, or 11.5%, from the prior academic year. And though first-year student enrollment increased at seven of the 10 state-owned universities this fall, it fell 20.5%, by 418 students, at PennWest.
No enrollment figures are available for PennWest's individual Edinboro, California and Clarion campuses, PASSHE spokesman Kevin Hensil said.
"PASSHE tracks enrollment at the university level. Since PennWest is now a single university, we do not have a breakdown by campus," he said.
The buildings were selected for sale because they "can be separated from the core area of campus rather easily," PASSHE CFO Molly Mercer told system governors last year. The buildings are on "a corner" of the Edinboro campus, near Darrow Road, and are separated by trees from other buildings in the Highlands complex.
From 2022: Edinboro University plans to sell 2 Highlands complex residence halls
If PennWest decides to move forward with the buildings' sale, it will need Edinboro Borough's approval to subdivide the 16.5-acre property, including parking lots, from the campus. And because the university is state-owned, the General Assembly and Pennsylvania Department of General Services would have to approve the sale.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Empty Edinboro residence halls aren't for sale yet as enrollment drops
