Oral B acquires Kirkwood's Iowa City campus, expanding local operation

Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen
·2 min read

Oral B has agreed to purchase Kirkwood Community College's Iowa City campus for $6.35 million, expanding operations for the dental care manufacturer.

The deal also finalizes Kirkwood's exodus from Iowa City after a 32-year stint.

The satellite property, located at 1816 Lower Muscatine Road in Iowa City, sits adjacent to Oral B’s existing operation. The company has not publicly provided any details regarding its use of the new space while Oral B's parent company, Proctor and Gamble, did not immediately reply to a request for details.

The sale is not finalized until the completion of a “due diligence” period spanning 120 days. Kirkwood’s Board of Trustees approved the sale on Aug. 10, meaning that due diligence period for Oral B spans until Dec. 8.

The college announced plans to sell off its Iowa City property and move the remainder of its operations to the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville in January. Kirkwood President Lori Sundberg said the sale of the building will help save the college roughly $400,000 annually in operational costs.

More: Kirkwood Community College to sell Iowa City campus, shift operations to Coralville

Kirkwood leaves Iowa City after three decades

The Iowa City facility includes multiple buildings on a 6.3-acre lot. The property was built in 1990 and first opened to students in 1991. Its assessed value was $673,380, the Press-Citizen previously reported.

Kirkwood sold the Johnson County property with an eye on the future, balancing the needs of students with the financial needs of the college, Sundberg said in a statement in January.

“Kirkwood is financially strong today,” she said in a previous Press-Citizen interview. “However, we will need to get our expenses in line with our revenues to ensure our fiscal strength for the future.”

The Cedar Rapids-based community college enrolls more than 10,000 students annually at facilities across the state, including in Coralville. Sundberg also said the college has faith in the accessibility and space at the Kirkwood Regional Center, which opened in 2015.

The Kirkwood Regional Center at UI is one of four regional centers in eastern Iowa offering classes to high school students and others on STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — and the only center among these four partnering with a university. Centers in Jones, Linn and Washington counties also have opened in recent years.
The Kirkwood Regional Center at UI is one of four regional centers in eastern Iowa offering classes to high school students and others on STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — and the only center among these four partnering with a university. Centers in Jones, Linn and Washington counties also have opened in recent years.

The college is considering sharing space in the ACT building with the Iowa City Community School District, the college confirmed. Sundberg called these efforts “more cost-effective” and said it allows Kirkwood to remain in Iowa City in some capacity.

“The new locations, as well as the cost savings, will allow us to focus more resources to give our students the support they need to succeed,” Sundberg said.

ICCSD acquired space on the ACT campus for $8.75 million in 2022.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Oral B acquiring Kirkwood Iowa City campus for $6.35 million