About
Shop
Contact Us

All Hallows seeks partners or sale of campus

By Sarah Mac Donald - 19 September, 2014

All Hallows College DublinAll Hallows College in Dublin has said to date it has received a number of informal expressions of interest following its announcement that it is seeking partners or the sale of the campus in Drumcondra.

Commercial property firm CBRE has been brought in by the college to secure the sale of its campus or appropriate partnerships which may allow All Hallows continue as an educational facility and cover its financial liabilities.

The 16.5 acre campus has an asking price of €14 million.

Last May, the Board of Trustees of All Hallows decided to commence a managed wind-down of the College’s academic operations.

The College has said it is committed to helping students complete their academic programmes or assist them in options for transferring to other institutions.

In a statement, AHC said that in order to fulfil the commitment to students and staff, it is necessary to realise assets in some manner or achieve a partnership and new arrangements which will sustain the College into the future.

At the start of the academic year 2014/5, the College begins the year with approximately 260 remaining undergraduate and post-graduate students.

Given the wind-down, the College did not accept new intakes for 2014-2015.

A redundancy programme is underway and following consultation with staff, employee numbers which were seventy-two will be reduced by approximately twenty as AHC seeks closer alignment between resources and the reduced academic programme.

Founded in 1842, All Hallows College has a 170 years history as an educational resource.

It is currently a College of Dublin City University (DCU) and a School of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The College’s preferred outcome of this process is that the assets of the College be retained, as far as possible, within the third level educational sector generally.

However, it cannot be assumed that educational partnerships will be available, at all, or on appropriate terms and the College must manage its affairs to meet its obligations.

The search for suitable interested parties will include others who may look at alternative uses for the campus.

Fr Patrick McDevitt, President of All Hallows College said, “Ideally, AHC would like to retain a presence on campus to continue aspects of its mission. This could be achieved, for example, within a partnership agreement or within a context where All Hallows College remains in occupation of part of the property as a tenant.”

He continued, “The College campus is a fine resource with much potential to continue as an important educational facility under adapted or different stewardship. In any event, All Hallows College intends to continue aspects of its mission whether on the campus or elsewhere.”

Throughout the summer, the College received countless numbers of emails, letters, cards, telephone messages and visitors who have offered support and kind words of gratitude for the gift of All Hallows College.

In addition, there have been expressions of sympathy for the loss of All Hallows College and the hope that some of All Hallows’ mission would continue in some form into the future.

Fr McDevitt said he was “deeply grateful for the wide community support at this time, particularly the support of staff and students.”

He concluded, “Today the College is adapting to change, as it has adapted to change many times over its 172 year history, we look to the future, a different future.”

Follow us on Twitter @CINetNews

Tags: , , , , , ,