Johnson State College will purchase 1096 College Hill Road, a brown house adjacent to the college apartments and surrounded by JSC property.

The 2,140-square-foot house, which was built in 1982, sits on 2.87 acres of land

The college will be paying $360,000 for the house, which, according to Dean of Administration Sharron Scott, is less than the original appraised value of the house.

“In the long term, over the next three to five years, we expect that the building will be converted into the president’s residence,” Scott said. “The current president’s house will be renovated to serve a different function, perhaps serving as an honors house, a retreat/conference house, or classroom building.”

The president is currently living in a college-owned house tucked in the woods behind McClelland Hall. Although the house is accommodating for a family, Scott feels it isn’t meeting the president’s needs. “It has accessibility issues,” she said, noting that the president’s job entails a lot of entertaining. “The house has a lot of stairs in it, it’s up a steep hill, and for those who have accessibility and mobility issues, it is a real problem.”

Scott noted the president often hosts large dinner parties for guests and the current house is simply too small to accommodate such gatherings comfortably.

The college has had its eye on the home since the beginning of last year when it learned the owner was contemplating selling the property. “It’s great because he’s been a really good friend of the college for the last 25 years and he’s been really interested in making sure that this works for him as well as us,” Scott said.

Currently, the college is brainstorming ideas for short term usage of the house. A final plan should be formulated within the next few months.

Funds for the purchase will come mainly from two sources: the Lower Campus Quazi-Endowment Fund, created when the college sold holdings on School Street, and the Strategic Reserve Fund.