Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has sold off a second parcel of student housing, but this time students will remain the primary residents.
The Fort Worth, Texas, seminary announced Jan. 13 the sale of its Student Village Apartments and Townhomes to Bellrock Real Estate Partners. The complex, located across the street from the main campus, includes 376 residential units, consisting of 252 traditional apartments constructed in 2012 and 124 townhomes built between 1976 and 1995.
This real estate deal follows last year’s sale of Carroll Park apartments — a much older complex located several blocks away from the main campus — to a Fort Worth coalition that now uses the duplexes and triplexes as permanent housing for the homeless and for families fleeing domestic violence.
The Carroll Park sale helped erase the seminary’s long-term debt and was a strategic decision to shore up the school’s shaky finances. The Student Village sale has a different motivation, seminary officials said: Helping the seminary get out of the housing business.
Once the nation’s largest theological seminary, Southwestern was built on a model of primarily attracting residential students who lived in Fort Worth for two to three years. Today’s theological education model nationwide is more flexible and more online, dramatically reducing the need for on-campus housing.
Southwestern students will retain priority in leasing the Student Village apartments, a seminary official explained on background. Previously, students had to carry a full-time load to qualify for student housing. Now, nontraditional students also will qualify to live near campus.
Private ownership of student housing is a nationwide trend, with major universities also divesting properties. A prime example not far from Southwestern’s campus is Texas Christian University, which now relates to multiple privately owned student housing complexes adjacent to campus.
Financial terms of Southwestern’s Student Village sale were not disclosed. The deal includes an agreement for some maintenance services to continue to be provided by the seminary, and the new owner has pledged to upgrade the complex.