Deadline set for bids to buy Dowling’s Oakdale campus

The judge overseeing Dowling College’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy has approved a March 27 deadline for bids to buy the school’s Oakdale campus.

The auction of the property, one of two campuses Dowling owns, is set for March 31, according to documents filed late last week at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Central Islip. Bankruptcy judge Robert E. Grossman approved the bidding procedures and deadlines.

A&G Realty Partners, a Melville commercial real estate consulting firm, and Madison Hawk Partners of Manhattan have been retained to sell the Oakdale property and Dowling’s Shirley campus.

A bidding deadline and auction date have not been set for the sale of the larger Shirley site.

The 25-acre historic waterfront property in Oakdale includes the former W.K. Vanderbilt Estate. The Shirley campus is on a 100-acre parcel. The college also owns 32 residential properties and other land holdings in Oakdale and Mastic.

“We are getting a number of inquiries regarding” the Shirley site, said Andy Graiser, co-president of A&G. He said the firms plan to market the Shirley campus sometime early next year.

Dowling, a private liberal arts college, had $54 million in long-term debt and ran out of funds to operate. It closed in August after losing its accreditation. It laid off about 450 faculty earlier this year and filed for bankruptcy last month.

“The properties are being sold free and clear of any financial liens,” said Jeff Hubbard, president of Madison Hawk. “The buyer of the site is getting clear title to the property.”