Colgate Rochester divinity school clears hurdle for sale, with most of campus as landmark

A plan for Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School to sell its campus and relocate to a new building — to be constructed on the campus — is moving ahead with neighborhood support.

The Rochester Preservation Board, by a 6-to-0 vote on Wednesday, agreed to designate most of the 23.5-acre campus as a landmark.

Exempted from this designation would be part of the site that would house the new three-story building. The divinity school would occupy 15,000 square feet on the second floor. 

If the City Planning Commission gives its OK to this landmark designation plan on Monday, the path would be cleared for completion of the sale.

“We accomplished smart preservation that retains a treasure of our community — without impeding progress,” said divinity school Chief Operating Officer Thomas McDade Clay.

The landmark designation status helps protect such historic buildings as Strong Hall  — a four-story Collegiate Gothic Building  — on campus as well as the sloping landscape facing Highland Avenue.

The prospective buyer, Top Capital of New York, plans to convert Strong Hall into a destination hotel and conference center.

When the proposed sale was announced earlier this year, the new building to house the divinity school was to be located near the northeast corner of South Goodman Street and Highland, in southeast Rochester.

More:Historic Colgate Rochester building expected to become hotel

That location of the new building drew strong opposition from area residents concerned that it would be disruptive to the neighborhood.

Colgate Rochester and Top Capital of New York went back to the drawing board and proposed that the building be at the site of two residence halls, which would be demolished. The new site would be out of public view from off campus.

The issue then became whether all or part of the campus would be designated as a city landmark to help preserve the historic nature of the property.

After the question was raised at a July joint hearing of the Preservation Board and Planning Committee, representatives of neighborhood groups met with Colgate Rochester and Top Capital officials.

More:New site for Colgate Rochester to be where dorms are located on campus

The compromise was presented at Wednesday's Preservation Board hearing, and will be considered by the Planning Commission at its Monday meeting.

"This protects the property," said Michael Thompson, vice chairman of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association.

Judy Hay of Neighbors Building Neighborhoods, Sector 6, added: "It absolutely preserves the major buildings — including the chapel. And the landscape on Highland Avenue is protected.” 

McDade Clay said that the sale of the Colgate Rochester campus to Top Capital has to be completed by the end of June 2018 and that there was no need to have the part of the property where the new building would be located designated as historic.

The two residence halls that would be demolished — built in 1958 and 1963 — were not part of the original campus, which dates back to 1932.

Top Capital, which is buying the Colgate Rochester property for an undisclosed price, is expected to invest $36 million in renovating the campus.

"We hope to break ground this year — so that we can have the building completed at the start of the school year in 2018,"  said Lou Giardino, chief development officer for Top Capital.

Any changes to the exterior of the property that has landmark status would need approval of the city Preservation Board. McDade Clay has expressed concern that such an extra layer of review could delay the sale and add expenses to the divinity school.

Property covered by a landmark designation would require a certificate of appropriateness, issued by the Preservation Board, before changes to the exterior of a building and grounds could be made.

Like many divinity schools, Colgate Rochester has been struggling in recent years, but it still has an endowment of about $22 million and runs on an annual operating budget of about $4 million.

It has an enrollment of about 130 students. Some are part time and most do not live on campus. The divinity school's programs are largely for graduate students and draw from local clergy or those who want to become ministers.

The divinity school's roots go back to 1817, with the founding of the Hamilton Theological and Literary Institute in Hamilton, Madison County. This institute became the Colgate Theological Seminary.

An offshoot, according to the divinity school's history, was planted in Rochester in 1850 by a group of Baptists who wanted a more urban setting. They founded the Rochester Theological Seminary as well as the University of Rochester.

In 1928, the Colgate and Rochester seminaries merged to become Colgate Rochester Divinity School. With this merger the current campus was built on one of the highest hills along South Goodman Street overlooking Highland Avenue.

Funding for the campus was provided by John D. Rockefeller Jr.

This divinity school has a historical connection to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

King earned a divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951, when the school was located in Chester, Pennsylvania. Crozer has since become part of Colgate Rochester.

JGOODMAN@Gannett.com    `