What Keene State is doing with unused buildings
There are a few buildings around campus that are currently not in use for multiple reasons such as offices and classes moving to a different building or left empty for quarantine.
“We are evaluating all of our real estate to determine which assets are central to our core mission and effectively support the needs of the KSC campus community, now and in the future”, said Nathalie Houder, Vice President of Finance and Administration, in an email interview “We want to identify any potential divestitures of non-core assets to generate proceeds that can be invested into our campus”. In other words, the college is looking at what buildings they can sell because they are not as useful or important to the campus. “We will also determine where we have critical need for additional investment”. Houder says that part of that process is engaging in a Master Planning process with USNH to complete a utilization study and preparing a strategic plan.
There are nine buildings on campus that Houder said are no longer in use. Among the nine are:
Randall Hall which requires significant investment; Blake House, which formerly housed the Management Department, related faculty and classes that were all moved to the Science Center for a space that was more central and functional. Proctor house, where the Student Conduct office was until the office was moved to 48 Butler Ct. this summer.
Houder went on to explain some of the offices that also changed locations in the process, “The Union of Student Conduct, Office of the Dean of Students (formerly in Elliot Center), Sexual Misconduct and Bias Coordinator & Title Nine (formerly in Hale) will be the beginning of the Community Standards offices. The Office of Student Conduct and an office reserved for the Community Directors (CD’s) will occupy the first floor. The Dean of Students, and Sexual Misconduct and Bias Coordinator & Title Nine will occupy the second floor”.
81 Blake, 115 Winchester, 361 Main, four units in Owls Nest and two units in Residences are also currently empty.
Bushnell is also empty and is scheduled to be demolished in the Spring of 2022.
Houder added, “We do save money on some utilities, repairs and maintenance when we take a building off-line, although we do maintain what is necessary for safety and fire prevention. More importantly, we have moved and consolidated functions to better serve our academic and other services”. In other words, even when the buildings aren’t in use, they are still taken care of and safe for use in the future.
Director of Transitions and Community Living, Casey Justice did not respond to several request for comment on the subject.
