The United Methodist Children’s Home & Concordia College Close on Selma Property
After several months of detailed discussions and negotiations, the United Methodist Children’s Home (UMCH) has reached an agreement with Concordia College on the 35-acre property located on Broad Street in Selma. The two entities closed on the deal August 12, 2010, and will immediately begin transitioning the property for use by the college.
“We are so excited for the city of Selma, and for the future of our ministry,” said Steve Hubbard, UMCH President & CEO. “To have this deal consummated means that we have a greater ability to continue our expansion of services to children and families, and that Concordia College will be able to make excellent use of the property to serve its growing student body.”
This deal between UMCH and Concordia College has been described as a “win-win” by several Selma city leaders, as it will help UMCH and the college to grow and expand their services, while bringing greater economic growth opportunities to the city of Selma as the young adult population increases on the college campus.
Dr. Tilahun Mendedo, President of Concordia College Selma, outlined the college’s short and long term plans for expansion and use of the property: “Concordia will continue advancing its call of higher education in the 21st century of America. As ‘a pride of Selma,’ Concordia will promote the city’s history and economic advancement by opening more residential dormitories to accommodate 200 students, a public book shop, a public coffee shop, Selma’s scholastic
cultural preservation center, and day care program for the community. This will open job opportunities and provide advancement for many Selmians.”
The UMCH Board of Directors began researching in 2006 the need to close its Selma campus in order to better serve the needs of children and families today. This resulted in the decision to sell the property and move its headquarters to the Montgomery area.
“The sale of the Selma property will help put the investments made into our ministry toward serving more children and expanding in more areas in the future,” explained Hubbard. “We will continue to operate eight group homes throughout Alabama and northwest Florida, to recruit and train more foster parents so that more children can be placed in their loving homes, and to work with children still living in their own homes with hopes that their families can
stay together."
“We are grateful to the city of Selma, where thousands of children’s lives were transformed over our 99 years serving here,” Hubbard said. “While it’s sad to move on, we celebrate with Concordia College this important transition for the future of all our young people.”
Selma citizens will begin to see a lot of activity at 1712 Broad Street, as Concordia College begins preparing for its incoming students for the fall semester. Renovations to the buildings are already underway in order to house students as soon as possible.
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