Rider University Sells Part of Campus to County in $10M Deal

Rider University, a private nonprofit college in New Jersey, could get a much-needed $10 million injection of funds by selling part of its campus to the county. 

Last week, Mercer County’s Board of Commissioners approved resolutions to buy a 56-acre lot on campus, purchase the college’s presidential house and lease school facilities for county services, NJ.com reported.

The deal could pay the university up to $9,999,999, county officials said. It would provide “essential financial liquidity to a critical regional anchor institution, thereby stabilizing the local economic base and preserving the tax ratables of the surrounding community by helping to prevent the insolvency of Rider University, a major regional employer,” according to the resolutions.

The county plans to use the campus lot as open space and a public access point for a future trail project, administrator Dan Benson told NJ.com. The agreement to purchase the presidential house would include negotiating a lease for the university to continue using the property. The deal could also see county employees get use of the university gymnasium and pool. 

In November, university officials announced plans to lay off 35 to 40 full-time faculty members, cut salaries by 14 percent and make other reductions as it attempts to address what President John R. Loyack called a “significant cash shortfall” due to “new and unforeseen developments.”

In October, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education placed the university on probation due to compliance concerns related to financial standards.