Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical seminary of more than 1,400 global students, announced in May 2022 that it is Pivoting to leverage the economic value of its main campus. In a renewed commitment to fulfilling its mission on a smaller academic footprint, this staged process includes selling significant portions, or all, of its 100+ acre Hamilton campus. The seminary has been working closely with the Town of Hamilton to integrate the future of the campus into Hamilton’s plans for the town.
To stay up to date on news, please see the Town Calendar for meeting dates and browse through the FAQs below. Additional Pivot information is also available on Gordon-Conwell’s general Pivot page.
See the Town Calendar Visit Gordon-Conwell’s General Pivot Page
No. Gordon-Conwell—Hamilton will remain in Hamilton. Since announcing our Pivot and the sale of part or all of the Hamilton campus in May 2022, we evaluated numerous properties in Boston but terminated plans to move into the city. We will continue to fulfill our mission on part of the 130 Essex St. campus.
The seminary cares deeply about the future of the property. It has been the beautiful setting in which we have trained students for service around the North Shore and the world, and it appears we may now become any new developer’s closest neighbor. We also care deeply about the Town and have been working on a win/win situation that would provide the Town with significant tax revenue.
Gordon-Conwell has never entered into a PILOT scheme with the Town. While the Seminary and the Town have discussed education costs for children of families living in our apartments, that was not a condition of approval for any of our apartments. Under the Dover Amendment in Massachusetts, that condition is not legal, and we have reserved our rights as an educational and religious charitable corporation under the Massachusetts Constitution and General Laws.
Nonetheless, we have made voluntary contributions in excess of $1,000,000 over the years, including several contributions specific to the needs of the Hamilton-Wenham School District.
See also “Does Gordon-Conwell provide the Town with any resources or services?”
We have always partnered with the Town to provide resources such as meeting spaces for Town activities and open recreational space-people enjoy frisbee golf, jogs, and walks with their dogs and horses on our campus. We have also housed the Town’s emergency antennae (fire alarm system) and water tower for decades, and we host the fire department for training.
As one of the Town’s largest employers and institutions, Gordon-Conwell contributes to the Town in Direct, Indirect, and Induced financial ways. In March 2009, we commissioned and published an independent Economic Impact Study utilizing the Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce) of economic and employment multipliers, quantifying the Direct and Indirect financial contributions of the Seminary to the Community. That report described how, in the previous fiscal year alone, the Seminary’s contributions to the Town, the County, and the Commonwealth were an estimated $8M, $33M, and $55M, respectively. We are happy to support the Town in this way.
These figures do not include induced economic contributions or the economic benefits of the untold hours of community service that faculty, staff, and students at the Seminary provide every year.
See also “Does Gordon-Conwell provide the Town with any resources or services?”
The Seminary’s relationship with the Town has been mutually beneficial. Our understanding, based on information provided to us by the Town, is that the addition of Seminary students’ children in the Hamilton schools has provided a financial benefit in increased state funding. Beyond the funding, however, we have been repeatedly reminded that our students have brought a beneficial diversity to the school system with the addition of students of color from around the world.
In 2021, the Town of Hamilton’s Master Planning Committee approached Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary having identified our property as a potential site for commercial development. The committee believed that a rezoning of the parcel could have a positive impact on the town’s economic development for years to come — growth that will support town services, schools, infrastructure needs, and much more. Not long after, we realized the need to right-size our property.
With the Select Board, we commissioned the work of both a real estate consulting firm and an architectural firm (Abramson Associates Inc. and Gamble Associates) to provide comprehensive “best use” analysis and zoning recommendations that were released in April 2023.
Per the consultants’ report, any redevelopment of the property would benefit the Town significantly through the raising of new tax revenue.
In order to make that a reality, we have been working with the Planning Board on an overlay district we hope to bring before the Town in the coming months.
Yes. After the Pivot was announced in May 2022, the Seminary sent communications to all legal abutters and President Sunquist met with several of them in their homes and in his office to share the Seminary’s plans and answer questions. The Seminary also hosted an on-campus meeting for abutters in July 2022.
As mentioned, we partnered with the Town’s Select Board to engage both a real estate consulting firm and an architectural firm (Abramson Associates Inc. and Gamble Associates) to provide comprehensive “best use” analysis and zoning recommendations that were released in April 2023. The consultants hosted an abutters meeting on our campus, as well as two interactive community conversations open to all Town residents at the Community House.
Since then, the Planning Board has invited the participation of abutters, residents, and the Seminary in their regular meetings. Please check the Town calendar for upcoming meetings.
The Seminary campus has a water treatment plant that is operating at approximately 60% of full capacity. It is in full compliance with the Department of Environmental Protection to whom we report on a weekly basis. This small facility and rapid infiltration bed treats effluent from every building on the campus via a below-ground, gravity-fed sewer and pumps. The system accommodates approximately 58,000 gallons/day with a typical, average daily demand of 30,000 gallons.
This is an important time for our entire community. Let’s connect you to the right people to answer your questions.
If you represent a business (other than media), please submit your inquiry to the Project Manager using this form. You can also submit inquiries and feedback to the Transition Committee about their search for locations in Metro Boston.