Lincoln Educational Services Corp. announced Monday it has agreed to sell its East Nashville campus for $34.5 million. According to a release, the sale of the roughly 15-acre Lincoln College of Technology property is expected to close this quarter. The release does not identify the prospective buyer.
The main address of the property is 1524 Gallatin Ave. Previously, Parsippany, N.J.-based Lincoln operated Nashville Auto-Diesel College at the site, after having bought the bulk of the campus in 2003, Metro records show. A name change for the college was finalized in September 2012.
Following the sale, Lincoln will be allowed to continue operating on the East Side campus rent-free for 12 months with an option to extend the rental period at negotiated rates. A move to a future campus — the location has not yet been determined — is expected by 2023.
Metro records are unclear as to the dollar figure Lincoln paid for the property, which offers multiple buildings.
“We believe the market conditions for commercial real estate assets are highly attractive and we’re capitalizing on the favorable opportunity to monetize these assets,” Lincoln President and CEO Scott Shaw says in the release. “After repayment of our outstanding term loan and closing costs, we expect to have approximately $60 million of additional investable capital that we intend to invest into the new Nashville campus as well as our growth initiatives, including the expansion of program offerings and entry into new geographic markets.”
The looming sale of the local campus comes as Lincoln has entered into a sale-leaseback agreement for its Denver and Grand Prairie, Texas, campuses. Those two transactions are expected to generate gross proceeds of $81 million, the release notes.
Founded in 1946, Lincoln operates 22 campuses in 14 states under four brands: Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology and Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences. Lincoln also operates Lincoln Culinary Institutes in both Maryland and Connecticut.
