Pfeiffer University looking to sell Park Road campus

Pfeiffer University is looking to sell its Charlotte campus on Park Road but will continue to serve students in the area, the school’s president said Friday.

Colleen Perry Keith said she began hearing from developers interested in the five acres at 4701 Park Road soon after she became president on July 1. The university, which has its main campus in Misenheimer, hopes to sell the property this fiscal year, which ends June 30, she said.

Pfeiffer is looking at other buildings nearby where it would lease space, Keith said. Pfeiffer has MBA and other programs in Charlotte.

“Being able to reinvest the money in academics across the institution would make a lot of sense,” Keith said. “We’ll still have a presence in Charlotte.”

The stretch of Park Road where Pfeiffer has its campus has become a hot area for developers.

Grubb Properties and Foothills Capital have plans for a major mixed-use development nearby, and Spectrum Properties plans to redevelop the Abbey Place apartments at Park Road and Abbey Place. Down the street, Pollack Shores is building a new apartment complex on Park Road at Cortland Road.

The university has already received offers ranging from around $8 million to about $13 million, Keith said. The property has an assessed value of about $5.8 million, according to property records.

Some of the prominent developers in the area of the campus are interested, as well as a high-end out-of-town grocery store, she said.

Pfeiffer used to own 6.5 acres, but sold off 1.5 acres about a year ago, Keith said. The university has had a Charlotte presence since the 1970s, she said.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Pfeiffer University looking to sell Park Road campus."