Southeast Arkansas College has acquired the campus of the former Davis Life Care Center at 6811 S. Hazel St.
In a Thursday meeting, the college's board unanimously approved taking on the former nursing home to convert it into a residential area for athletes beginning in August. SEARK bought the property for $990,000, college President Steven Bloomberg said.
The college in January announced it would add an athletic department that would roll out baseball, softball and e-sports for the 2023-24 school year and men's and women's basketball for 2024-25, using its athletic facilities at the former Seabrook YMCA as home venues. Bloomberg said he is confident the residential area, which for now would occupy up to 165 students, would be ready for use by August.
"It may be that we build to accommodate 200 students or 175 students," Bloomberg said. "We'll have a better demand for what we need on campus versus what we have today."
For now, the cost of remodeling the old Davis campus is an estimated $4.5 million, with SEARK ready to cover $3 million of the cost. That would leave $1.5 million in bonds for the college to sell.
If a new athletic village were to be constructed, it would cost about $20 million, Bloomberg told trustees.
Bloomberg said in January adding athletics to SEARK would allow the teams to serve as a recruiting tool for the two-year Pine Bluff college and help "preserve" athletic talent of local high school students.
SEARK officials have not yet confirmed a starting date for the construction of an on-campus student union and residential hall to accommodate up to 316 students (158 units). Bloomberg said he hopes to break ground on the project sometime this year.
The funds that SEARK raised toward that project can be used toward the athletic housing project, Bloomberg said.
SEARK hired Servitas, a Texas-based student housing development company, to remodel and manage housing. A representative for Servitas said the property, built in 1991, is structurally sound, and no "red flags" were found in the plumbing or electrical work. A fire alarm safety panel needs to be replaced, however, along with other issues that need to be addressed during the remodel, the rep said.
The P3 Group, which is already working with SEARK on the on-campus building projects, will design the remodel at the former Davis campus.
A message was left for the previous owners of the Davis campus.
Bloomberg said he intends to hire an athletic director by March 1. The athletic director will be responsible for hiring coaches (while professors already employed at SEARK lead the e-sports program), but Bloomberg will be involved in those searches as well.
SEARK plans to compete in Division II of the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association, meaning it can award scholarships for tuition and fees only compared to awards covering tuition, fees and housing for Division I schools and no athletic aid in Division III.