Kirkwood's former Iowa City campus, located at 1828 Lower Muscatine Road. CREDIT ANNIE SMITH BARKALOW
After 273 days on the market, Kirkwood Community College has announced a buyer for its Iowa City campus, located at 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd. Oral-B Laboratories has entered into a contract to purchase the 84,277 square-foot campus for $6.4 million, nearly $675,000 less than the listed purchase price, pending 120 days of “due diligence.” The […]
After 273 days on the market, Kirkwood Community College has announced a buyer for its Iowa City campus, located at 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd.
Oral-B Laboratories has entered into a contract to purchase the 84,277 square-foot campus for $6.4 million, nearly $675,000 less than the listed purchase price, pending 120 days of “due diligence.” The contract was approved by the Kirkwood Board of Trustees on Aug. 10.
The Iowa City campus was built in 1998 and underwent a major renovation in 2015. The grounds have three buildings, the primary one measuring 69,000 square feet.
According to the listing on Realty.com, the campus is located two miles from the University of Iowa campus and is adjacent to Sycamore Mall.
Kirkwood's Iowa City location saw a 64% drop in enrollment over a period of 10 years. CREDIT ANNIE BARKALOW
Kirkwood closed the Iowa City campus in May 2023 due to a 64% decline in enrollment over a 10-year period, and officially put the campus on the market the following month. In January, it announced that it would move the “majority” of its Iowa City operations to its Regional Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville.
“The Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa meets our needs as it has plenty of space,” said Kirkwood President Lori Sundberg in a January statement. “Our research also indicates the site is a more accessible location for the community overall.”
The pending sale comes after a recent trend in closures due to low enrollment numbers. In June, Kirkwood shuttered its Tippie-Mansfield Center in Belle Plaine and the Cedar County Center in Tipton, and moved its NewBo City Market classes to the main campus in April.
In February, Kirkwood announced it was cutting the Dental Technology and Energy Production and Distribution Technologies programs, citing a need to reallocate resources in order to “bring future budgets in line.” In addition, it announced it would be scrapping the behind-the-wheel portion of its CDL-A program, and cutting 13 staff and faculty positions.
According to a January release, the sale of the Iowa City campus will save nearly $400,000 annually in operational costs.
