Minnie Bardenhagen

Editor-in-Chief

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On Jan 26, after careful deliberation, the Board of Trustees finalized the sale of the Boardman Lake Campus to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for $27 million. The campus, which was used as the University Center until the summer of 2025, has been property of NMC since 1989.

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The proceeds from the sale, per the resolution agreed to by the Board, will be put into a Board-designated fund. This means that any use of the proceeds from the sale must be approved by the board. NMC has stated that the $27 million will be used for projects aligned with goals in the Campus Master Plan and Strategic Plan, and the board has clarified that they will not use the proceeds for operational purposes.

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Troy Kierczynski, Vice President for Finance & Administration at NMC, said in an interview with the White Pine Press that his recommendation to the board will likely be to allocate that money towards renovation of the Osterlin Building. The renovation, which is projected to cost between $7 to $10 million, is intended to make the space a hub for student services.

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“Right now, I feel [it] is the top need of the college, in terms of the master plan and all the dominoes that need to fall in order to improve Front Street Campus,” Kierczynski said. 

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The campus master plan, approved in 2024, is an approximately decade-long endeavor that includes renovations of several main campus buildings, a geothermal power plant, and student housing. The projects outlined in the campus master plan are estimated to cost $164 million on the low end and $235 million on the high end. Kierzynski noted that they have already seen projects cost less than originally estimated.

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“We actually accomplished Beckett and Scholars [renovations] last summer... and they gave a range of $1.3 [million] combined for those projects to $1.9 million,” Kierczynski explained. “We, I think, addressed that for less than a half million dollars.”

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Kierczynski said it is also possible that he will ask the board to allocate some of the Boardman Lake sale proceeds towards the geothermal plant as an alternative to the current method of funding for the project. Geothermal energy, which is the harnessing of thermal energy from the earth, is already used for the Innovation Center. The new geothermal plant will be used to power Scholars Hall, the Osterlin Building, the Tanis Building, the Biderman Building, and the Health & Science Building.

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Housing projects, such as new dorms and apartments, are slated to take place in the late 2020s and into the early 2030s. The most expensive project, the expansion into the Eastern Avenue woods, is expected to be the final project undertaken in the masterplan. Kierczynski said, that while it is not impossible, it is unlikely that the Boardman Lake proceeds will go towards student housing projects. He did mention that NMC is keeping its options open for financing housing projects.

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“I think we’re going to have to get creative if we want to accomplish everything on this list,” Kierczynski said, referring to all of the masterplan projects.

Demand for student housing is high, according to Kiercyznski.

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“I think it does expedite the need for housing,” said Kierczynski. “There’s ways we can have an expedited housing project done on main campus… I think right now, we look at it as the next thing after the Osterlin project.”

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The Board’s decision to finalize the sale was unanimous, though one absent trustee, Andrew Robitshek, told the Board virtually that if he were present, he would have voted no.

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“I believe in the long term, the college will regret not owning the property which it could utilize for a variety of opportunities,” Robitshek told the White Pine Press. “I believe the administration has done a great job of putting together the sale, but I would not have voted for it.”

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According to Kierczynski, NMC considered the possibility that future growth would render the building useful. However, he pointed to NMC’s goal to make the main campus more lively. 

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“Having this remote property is challenging from a culture-building aspect for the college,” Kierczynski said. He noted that University Center staff felt isolated, being so separated from the main campus.

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The Boardman Lake Campus sale is projected to be complete in the spring.