AMHERST — With a request for proposals now public, Region Commercial of West Springfield is managing the sale of the Hampshire College land and its assets, according to a letter sent to the campus community by President Jenn Chrisler.
The Tuesday communication from Chrisler and Jose Fuentes, who chairs the trustees, notes that they have met with lead broker Mitch Bolotin and his team to handle the disposal of nearly 800 acres of land and 805,917 square feet inside 24 academic, residential, administrative and recreational buildings.
“The process does not presume a predetermined outcome — potential transactions may involve individual parcels, phased transactions over time, or larger campus-wide proposals,” they wrote. “The board’s foremost responsibilities remain supporting students through the teach-out, fulfilling the institution’s fiduciary obligations, and ensuring that any proposals under consideration are financially viable and capable of timely and successful execution.”
They add that the college will not comment publicly on individual proposals, prospective bidders or ongoing discussions, but are confident in Region’s work: “They are deeply connected to the region and have successfully completed thousands of complex commercial real estate transactions.”
There is no price listed for the sale of the campus, but a dedicated website is at hampshire.regionco.com that has the offer sheet. There is no fixed submission deadline, with proposals accepted, reviewed and considered on an ongoing basis. The offer sheet has specifics such as the 283 rooms in Merrill Dorm, 243 rooms in Dakin Dorm and 105 apartments for 650 students in Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott complexes, as well as details about the town’s 2025 housing production plan.
The site also includes photographs of campus buildings, both inside and out, site maps showing the parcels in Amherst and Hadley and drone aerial footage.
Three proposals have been made public by those making them, one from a group calling itself Hampshire Next, another from a Maryland-based philosopher and the third for the open space coming from The Trustees of Reservations and Kestrel Land Trust.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said Tuesday that town will be closely involved in the future of the campus in the ways it can be, largely around zoning. He has reached out to state agencies to get immediate technical assistance and support for planning.
Grants and consulting assistance can help analyze the site, establish goals and priorities for the town and develop tools through zoning to meet those goals.
The municipal capital budget for fiscal year 2027 includes $200,000 to hire consultants for the campus, as well as the town’s Wildwood School site, and town staff continue to review the land that Hampshire College owns to better understand its possibilities and constraints.
On a related topic, town staff have been working with those involved with the Early Learning Center in an attempt to keep the group together and find a new home to preserve these childcare options.
Meanwhile, Chrisler’s letter references Saturday’s commencement, calling it “a powerful reminder of what has always made Hampshire so incredible: curious, creative, engaged people who will carry this special place with them into the world” and also about how the board’s focus is on the “support a successful teach-out and orderly wind-down of the college’s operations.”
Even though the college will be closing, the trustees affirmed the election of Elle Chan as the next chair, following Fuentes’ seven years of leadership.
Even though a broker and advisor is in place, “all decisions regarding potential transactions will ultimately be made by the board of trustees.”
“It is important to emphasize that the initiation of this process does not mean there are immediate changes to campus occupancy or student access to facilities. Assuring that the campus remains operational to support students through the teach-out remains central to all planning conversations.”
And no comment will be made yet.
The letter said, “We realize that this is an area of significant interest for many in our community. Because potential respondents are required to provide detailed information, and because releasing incomplete information or providing episodic updates could compromise the ability to achieve the strongest possible outcome, the college will not comment publicly on individual proposals, prospective bidders or ongoing discussions.”
Chrisler informed the trustees that the college will voluntarily recognize the newly formed Hampshire College Faculty Union. This will allow for negotiating the wages, hours and terms and conditions of the bargaining unit’s role in the teach-out, and the effects on the bargaining unit of the college’s decision to cease academic operations.
“The coming months will continue to require difficult decisions, as well as patience. We remain awed by the care you show each other as members of this community and for the extraordinary devotion of so many who are supporting students through this transition. Hampshire has always been defined by people striving to live out our most aspirational ideals in moments of triumph and difficulty.”
