Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) recently closed on the sale of its campus to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard has selected the BSC campus as the location of a new training center.
According to a statement from BSC, the Coast Guard will refit the 192-acre campus — with 1.3 million square feet of buildings, plus athletic fields and expansive green spaces — on Birmingham’s west side as the Coast Guard Training Center Birmingham-Southern.
Throughout the year, the BSC facility will train several thousand active-duty enlisted personnel rotating through courses ranging from two to 12 weeks that focus on technical skills and professional development. An estimated 300 Coast Guard staff and another 100 civilian contractors will operate Training Center Birmingham-Southern, living either on or off campus.
The purchase price of $126.5 million was determined by a qualified independent appraiser engaged by the U.S. General Services Administration. Under the Code of Federal Regulations, the U.S. government must pay “just compensation” based on fair market value for the purchase of private property, according to BSC.
Expanding the training footprint is a key component of the Coast Guard’s ongoing modernization, which is building on the Service’s best recruiting gains since 1991 toward workforce growth of at least 15,000 military members.
The Coast Guard has committed to honoring the College’s 168-year legacy of education and service by calling the new facility Coast Guard Training Center Birmingham-Southern. BSC’s legacy of developing young men and women will continue in the Coast Guard’s efforts to cultivate a new generation of young men and women dedicated to serving our nation.
Net proceeds from the sale will be used to replenish the BSC endowment, which had eroded during the College’s long struggle to stay open.
Under Alabama’s Uniform Prudent Investment of Institutional Funds Act, BSC is required to create a long-term plan for the endowment, secure approval of the plan from the Alabama Attorney General, and then obtain approval in the Alabama circuit court. That work is expected to take at least a year.
“We are committed to delivering a plan that meets the statutory requirements and honors the generosity of those who have supported us through endowment gifts throughout BSC’s 168 years,” Keith Thompson, chair of the BSC Board of Trustees. “As we turn our focus to creating that plan, we continue to ask the BSC community for patience with what is certain to be a lengthy process. We will communicate with them once the plan is fully approved.”
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