AIB to sell campus apartments in light of closure

In light of its impending closure and transition into a Regional Regents Center, Des Moines' AIB College of Business this week announced plans to sell three apartment buildings previously used to house students.

AIB will sell Merk Hall, which actually includes two separate buildings, along with Dalton Hall, which together provided 60 furnished one-bedroom apartments on about 3.74 acres of land. Sale of the property will leave the campus with five residential buildings - although only one is currently being used to house students, according to AIB spokeswoman Jane Schorer Meisner.

AIB is listing the property for $3 million, and AIB President Nancy Williams said proceeds from the sale of the buildings will be used for general education operating expenses 'as may be needed in the coming year.”

AIB in January announced plans to close its 95-year-old campus on June 30, 2016. The Higher Learning Commission in May approved a 'teach-out plan” for the institution, which is finishing up its final summer term and will accommodate a dwindling number of students wrapping up programs this fall, winter, and summer.

'AIB has committed to continuing its operation through the 2015-2016 academic year to allow as many students as possible to complete their degrees,” Williams said in a statement. 'The decision not to enroll a freshmen class for 2015 has reduced our housing needs.”

Williams said the college has no debt obligations and sufficient funds as it heads into its final academic year. After its closure, AIB's campus will become a Regional Regents Center of the University of Iowa.

Details of that arrangement are still being finalized, and Williams said she hopes to complete a final agreement this fall. AIB originally planned to gift its campus to UI in hopes it would become a satellite UI campus in Des Moines, but that plan was scrapped and replaced by the regional center concept shortly after.

Chris Costa, chairman of AIB's board of trustees said the sale of the three buildings 'has been discussed with the Board of Regents Office and University of Iowa officials, and it does not adversely affect their plans for utilizing the campus in the future.”

Once AIB closes and satisfies all its financial obligations, all remaining cash will be transferred to UI, according to Costa.

AIB's enrollment has been shrinking with its impending closure, and 419 students are enrolled this summer. That is expected to drop to about 350 students in the fall. About 100 students currently live on campus, but officials say that also is expected to dwindle.