A four-acre parcel of land on the Anderson University campus that includes the Kardatzke Wellness Center is being offered for sale for $21.5 million. Andy Knight | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — Anderson University has put the Kardatzke Wellness Center up for sale.
According to a listing from CBRE, a Dallas-based commercial real estate service and investment firm, the university put the building — which includes the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium and the Bennett Natatorium — on the market in April.
The move follows announcements in May that the university would disband the campus police department and eliminate its men’s and women’s lacrosse programs in an effort to trim costs.
“We see this as a strategic move,” said Suahil Housholder, vice president for finance and treasurer at AU. “It enhances our financial flexibility and supports our long-term vision. By enhancing our liquidity, we are creating opportunities… that will strengthen our academic offerings, enhance our student experiences and enhance our institutional resilience.”
Housholder said AU would retain exclusive use rights to the wellness center, and the university’s basketball and swimming teams, as well as other sports, would continue to use the building’s practice facilities.
The asking price for the building and 4.19 acres of land surrounding it is $21,576,300.
Messages requesting comment from CBRE representatives went unreturned Thursday.
The facility is being sold under a sale leaseback condition, a type of lease popular among investors due to the nominal risks involved with cost fluctuations in maintaining it.
“The continued operations of the wellness center under our management just ensures our continued commitment to student wellness ,” Housholder said. “Athletics remain unchanged, and it will help us to position ourselves for a stronger future.”
She added that students and others using the facility would see no evidence of any changes.
“This is purely a financing transaction that the institution is engaged in,” she said.
AU’s decision to sell one of its most recognizable campus facilities is not unique, according to university President Scott Moats. He said colleges across the country are selling buildings and other assets for a variety of reasons.
“The university has assets,” Moats said. “We want to use those assets to fulfill the mission of this university. The best use of our assets are different as compared to the context in which we live, so when context changes, we want to actually be flexible enough to make those changes with the current situation.
“The primary driver for us is, how do we take the resources that we have and maximize those usages so we can complete our mission?” he added.
Moats said the university “wants to continue its legacy in the city of Anderson” and the university is committed to strengthening relationships with the community.
“When I go speak to alumni around the area and outside the area, the one thing I come back with and energize about is the fact that Anderson University made a difference in their lives,” Moats said. “That is what drives us to use our resources, in a responsible way, but also in a way that honors and glorifies God. We want to continue that and we want to make sure Anderson University is strong today and into the future.”
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