Evangelical Christian School Completes $28.6M Purchase of Hodges Campus

A New Chapter for ECS High School

In an exciting development for the Evangelical Christian School (ECS) of Fort Myers, the school has finalized the purchase of the Hodges University campus for $28.6 million. This significant acquisition marks a new chapter for ECS as it plans to move its high school facilities to the new location by this fall.

The property, located at the northeast corner of Colonial Blvd. and Winkler Ave., includes two buildings at 4501 Colonial Blvd. and 4445 Winkler Ave. Hodges University will continue to occupy the site through June, after which ECS will begin its transition. The new campus will serve as the high school for ECS, which has been operating its high school facilities at 8237 Beacon Blvd. since 1973.

A Competitive Acquisition Process

The deal, brokered by LSI Companies, was highly competitive, with multiple parties expressing interest in the prime location. "We had multiple suitors for the property," said LSI CEO Justin Thibaut. "It was a competitive environment. And we had buyers of all types for this facility on the table. It wasn’t just for higher education. We had office users. We had folks talking about converting it for other uses. We had others who just liked the premium location of the site."

Despite a bidding war that saw the final sale price exceed the listing price by $2.8 million, Randy Krise of Krise Commercial Group, who represented ECS, called it a "super" deal given the site's proximity to Interstate 75 and the quality of the construction.

A Cost-Effective Solution for Expansion

In today's environment of skyrocketing construction costs, purchasing the existing Hodges campus proved to be a cost-effective solution for ECS. "Let’s look at it this way," Thibaut said. "It’s $28.6 million at 110,000 square feet. That’s $260 per square foot. To replicate today? It’s probably $400 per square foot, plus the land." This would translate to approximately $44 million in construction costs, not including the land. Instead, ECS can move into the existing facilities at about half that cost.

The Hodges campus features 43 classrooms, a library, meeting spaces, and a cafeteria, making it well-suited to meet the needs of a high school. "The basics for a school are here," Thibaut said. "Classrooms, a library, meeting space, a cafeteria. As far as what ECS needs to do, I’m not privy to that, but it’s a school, whether it be a high school or a higher educational facility. It was a huge opportunity for ECS."

Looking Ahead

ECS, which currently serves about 1,300 students from Naples to Estero, to Fort Myers and even Cape Coral, plans to continue using its existing Beacon Blvd. campus for preschool through middle school and athletics. The addition of the Hodges campus will provide much-needed space and resources for the high school as ECS continues to grow and serve the Fort Myers community.