康科迪亚收购第二校区是“千载难逢的机会”

一年前, 欧文康考迪亚大学’s leadership was not even considering purchasing another campus. 但是一个不可预见的机会, 主的引导, and leadership from strategically-placed people has allowed Concordia to acquire a $43.500万美元的建筑. Michael 托马斯。 calls one of the most important developments in Concordia’s history. “In essence, we are adding 40 percent more square footage to our classroom and office space,” Dr. 托马斯说. “This building unleashes us to think in completely new ways in terms of programs we can launch. It will allow us to accelerate our plans to grow health-care related programs. It will bring us forward a decade in time because we don’t have to repurpose buildings on campus or go through the approval process to renovate it for another purpose.”

购买前, 康考迪亚大学的校园建筑面积总计约280平方米,000平方英尺, 包括除了宿舍以外的所有内部空间吗. The new building adds 113,882 more square feet in a three-story building on 6.占地6英亩在奥尔顿公园路和拉古纳峡谷路的拐角处, adjacent to the Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center and Hoag Hospital Irvine. 离现在的校园只有三英里, 该设施配备了一个690个车位的停车场和停车场. 它位于尔湾频谱规划区的拉古纳峡谷路16355号. 幸运地, 这座建筑被划为教育用地, 因为它以前被另一所大学占用. 它有20个特点,000平方英尺的家具, 最先进的护理教学空间和90多个,000平方英尺的教室, 办公室, 工作站, 独特的教育空间. 这座新建筑将容纳康科迪亚的发展 护理学加速理学士(ABSN) 项目以及其他学术项目和大学办公室. ABSN项目将于今年夏天搬到新址, 其他办公室和项目也将在未来几个月跟进.

但去年夏天的一次小危机引发了大规模收购.

对空间的需求

康科迪亚的发展一直是“一个限制的故事”. 托马斯。. “Restrictions on the number of cars allowed on campus, and the amount of parking. 限制学术项目，特别是研究生项目的发展.”

一个紧迫的例子是护理课程, 它在增长，需要额外的实验室面积, 教室, 和办公室. When the leased space it occupied in a nearby office building came up for renewal, 新的租赁价格要高得多, 没有扩张的空间. 蒂姆Odle, 赌博十大平台排行运营副校长, 正规赌博十大平台排行, 以及注册服务, and a broker began scouting other locations in Irvine that could accommodate the nursing program’s growth. When nothing seemed to fit, the broker asked if Concordia’s leadership had considered buying. Another university was selling a building which had been outfitted for nursing and medical education training, 然后在2020年初，随着COVID的出现，这个职位基本上空缺了.

“当我们走过这座建筑时，感觉非常怪异，”他说. 托马斯。. “Many of the calendars were still turned to March 2020 because the people had left and never really come back. 在护理技能实验室, the beds and mannequins were there with all the exam rooms and 教室 for nursing. 我们简直不敢相信.“还, “我们都认为买它的想法有点疯狂, 就像, “我们怎么能诚实地这么做呢??’”他说.

由于其他投资者在观望，成功的前景似乎令人望而生畏. 但康科迪亚刚刚雇佣了史蒂夫·斯特劳奇, 这方面的专家, 担任财务副总裁，还有斯特劳奇, who had a career’s worth of experience working for the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) and other financial entities, 看到了前进的道路. 斯特劳奇说:“从财务上来说，这很困难。. “We could take the same money we were paying for the lease and put it into a building we owned which would appreciate. 这也是我们分散投资的一种方式. We took it to the finance committee of the Board of Regents and then prayed hard about it, 问, 这是上帝指引我们去的地方吗?“我们沿着那条路走得越远, 我总是预料到会有路障, 但我们遇到的每一个障碍都很快被清除了.”

因为它有强大的财政基础, Concordia was in a position to receive a loan of $45 million with attractive terms from Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). 巴特的一天, LCEF总裁兼首席执行官, 称此次收购是“康科迪亚公司千载难逢的机会”, to find this type of property and space in that proximity to campus being used for a program you wanted to expand. The ability to capture this piece of property and set the direction of the University for the next ten or twenty years as they expand those programs — we thought it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.不过，这处房产的成交从来都不确定. “The odds of these really big deals going through is 20 or 30 percent,” Strauch says. “我一直都知道这件事随时都可能失控. 我只是一直看着它保持在轨道上，然后说，哇. 哇.’” Dr. 托马斯把因素和人的融合称为“上帝的事情”.” “God gives us the right people and the right circumstances at the right time,他说. “As we went through the process, every wall, every obstacle fell with almost no pushing. 这很了不起. Everything we did, every step we took convinced us that the Lord’s hand was guiding this process.”

偶然发现的, 大楼在欧文市发表国情咨文的那天关闭了, 哪一个是康科迪亚的共同赞助的. 那天晚上, the mayor announced during the address that Concordia had purchased the building and pointed to it as a significant commitment to and  investment in Irvine’s workforce. 该物业将被称为光谱校园. 康考迪亚的原址将被称为龟岩校区, 以它所在的尔湾龟岩地区命名.

彼得Senkbeil, 副总统和总统特别助理, 正在领导一个如何使用这栋大楼的特别小组吗. 我很惊讶. 我很激动. I never thought we would be able to get this kind of facility in this location at this price,Senkbeil说. “这是我们所希望的一切. It’s almost a miracle of God that this was available and we were able to get it when all the pieces fell into place.“除了建筑, Spectrum校区配备了所有现有的家具, 固定装置, 还有包括护理床和人体模型在内的设备, 教室里的家具, 计算机技术, 投影仪, 白板, 和更多的.

“新校区提供的机会令人难以置信，”森克贝尔说.

Beginning in August, students in Concordia's ABSN program will attend 类 at the Spectrum Campus. 更多的医疗保健项目正在筹备中, and the university is developing a proposal for a master of science in nursing (MSN) that would allow graduates to become certified as family nurse practitioners.

研究生课程 健康与人文科学学院, 以及其他医疗保健相关项目, 有一天会搬到那里吗, and the close proximity to Kaiser and Hoag hospitals provides potential opportunities for student internships and clinical assignments, enabling Concordia to consider plans for expansion with other healthcare programs.

现在, 工作人员正在迅速为秋季学期做准备, re-carpeting, 把内部重新粉刷成康考迪亚绿金色. 该建筑将容纳现场IT人员, 清洁和维修人员, 校园安全代表, 行政首长, 物业管理人员. 康科迪亚社区成员将免费停车. 教堂将会流媒体化，食物服务也会提供.

Unaffected will be Concordia's undergraduate student population and online students. 无本科课程, 类, 或宿舍宿舍将被安置在光谱校园. 根据购买协议的条款, the previous owner will continue to lease one floor of the building for approximately 18 months while they transition to a new facility.

戴说，从经济上来说，“这所大学有很多好处”.

The Spectrum Campus acquisition also happens simultaneously with the implementation of a new strategic plan just adopted by the Board of Regents in February to guide the university through its 50th anniversary and beyond.  托马斯说 Concordia is ready to launch into its next major phase as the Concordia of the western United States: “We are poised to come into our own,他说. “This acquisition enables us to expand new academic programs to meet the workforce development needs of this entire region. 作为一所基督教大学, we are grateful to the Lord for opening up the tremendous blessing of the Spectrum Campus.”