Goddard College Sale Has Fallen Through

The latest plan for acquiring and developing the Goddard College campus is not going to happen.

Trustees of the Plainfield institution, which closed its doors September 14, said in a statement on Monday that a group called Greatwood Project had failed to come up with the purchase price.

"Unfortunately, we have just been informed that the Greatwood Project/Collective Well partnership has been unable to secure the necessary funds to purchase the Goddard College property,” the statement said. “The Board of Trustees will now explore a range of alternative options to sell the campus."
Many other prospective buyers have shown interest in the property, according to the trustees.

The Greatwood Project announced in early August that it would purchase the former agricultural estate for $3.2 million. But last week, group member Lucinda Garthwaite said an investor had backed out and the group needed $250,000 to close the sale.

Garthwaite did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Another project member, Kris Gruen, said a subset of the former buyers called the Greatwood Group "is still working to pursue the sale."

The dissolution of Goddard, a small alternative liberal arts institution that was founded in 1938, has been a long and painful saga for alumni, faculty, staff and residents of the local community.

The school had 1,900 students at its peak in the 1970s, but in April, when trustees announced it was closing, only 220 people were enrolled. The 131-acre property, which extends to East Montpelier and Marshfield, includes 10 administrative and academic buildings, 12 dormitories and two maintenance buildings, according to Lisa Larivee, a clerk to Goddard’s board of trustees.

Garthwaite said as recently as last week that the group hoped to maintain the historic buildings and restore the gardens so the space could be used for events and other public gatherings. In written materials, the project laid out ambitious plans that included much-needed housing and workshops for businesses.
The Greatwood Project’s founders included Chris Pratt, a former Goddard forestry instructor who lives in East Montpelier and whose family name is on a building that includes the campus library; Garthwaite, who runs an organization called the Institute for Liberatory Innovation; Worcester resident Gruen, a musician; part-time Vermont residents Susan and Brian Benninghoff; and Leesa Stewart, the former Goddard CFO who now works as CFO at the Vermont Foodbank.

In May, Goddard trustees said the campus was under contract with an unnamed buyer. But that prospective purchaser, a local commercial real estate developer, changed his mind in June.

Weeks later, on August 1, the deal with Greatwood was announced.

The campus is home to several tenants, including the Maplehill School and Farm, Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, and the WGDR radio station. Some workers at the nearby Cabot Creamery, meanwhile, live in the dorms.