A Chicago-based real estate developer has signed a purchase agreement to buy the former Wells College campus in Aurora with plans for a senior living community.
"For now we're still negotiating," said developer Paul Warshauer, who made a $10 million cash offer and signed the agreement last Thursday. "We're in, basically, the due diligence period, the examination period.
"We need to really make sure that the numbers work," he continued, "before we, you know, sign."
The plan is to renovate roughly half the 113-acre scenic property along Cayuga Lake for independent and assisted living as well as memory care units. The athletic facilities would be grouped for another youth or community sports operator, he said. And the remaining buildings could again be utilized for an unspecified educational purpose, possibly an existing university's satellite campus.
"For the record, we have no desire at this time to demolish any of the buildings," said Warshauer, who specializes in reuse of historic properties. "We're going to keep them all."
The college shut down in June 2024. And what seemingly was the most promising offer —a $12.5 million bid from The Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge, which planned to open an accredited university dedicated to Indigenous studies — fell through. The institute sued the college over the botched transaction. There is a court hearing set for December to decide whether that case should be dismissed.
Warshauer was an early partner with Hiawatha Institute, "until I realized that they didn't have any money," he said. Messages left with the institute on Monday were not immediately returned.
The college recently went back out to bid, seeking interested buyers and saying it was open to selling off the campus piece by piece. But Warshauer said the college was smart not to do so, adding: "Now it just takes a vision to put all the pieces together, and that's what we're doing."
The purchase agreement sets a closing date for Feb. 15, dependent on the court cases.
In a statement, the college confirmed the purchase agreement, saying it "allows the Board to meet its fiduciary duties and the college's financial obligations." College President Susan Henking said, in the statement, that "Wells appreciates Mr. Warshaeur's interest in the historic and beautiful campus as well as his vision to benefit the Finger Lakes region."
Warshauer said he had never tackled a project of this scale, typically restoring individual school buildings or theaters through his firm Grand Venues. Nor has he done a senior housing development. He has enlisted a Syracuse architect, Holmes King Kallquist & Associates, and has "a couple" of potential developers whose business is continuum of care communities currently evaluating the project.
"So that's an exciting opportunity," said Warshauer, 72. "I'm looking to retire there myself. So I've already picked out my apartment up in the main building."
Warshauer points to a project in New Ulm, Minnesota, as some of his best work. It included restoring a theater and building 55 market-rate apartments, with a project price tag of roughly $15 million.
"This is going to be significantly more," he said, estimated the senior community alone will cost up to $50 million or $60 million.
"When I was there last week, I said I'm willing to listen to anybody, and I had a nice meeting with the mayor and a trustee, and then some other people," Warshauer said. "And they're just tired of the fighting.
"Poor little Aurora wants to get something done in their town," he continued, "and it's a beautiful town. So let's see if we can help."
Includes reporting by staff writer Noelle Evans.
