State Receiver Moving Forward with Finlandia Property Sales, Plans to Abandon Six Remaining Sites

This week marks Hancock’s first fall season without students walking around campus at Finlandia University. Since March, there has been little movement with properties at the now defunct school. But there is some good news for the community. Finlandia’s state receiver, Patrick O’Keefe of O’Keefe LLC, has recently agreed to purchase agreements for the sale of 12 properties.  Two of those include the Ryan Street Gardens and the Quincy Green, that the city of Hancock plans to purchase. His firm is still actively marketing another four properties.

“So things have progressing along with the Department of Education. It looks like the next thing that will be sold will be, hopefully Quincy Green is in the package, and the gardens. The Hoover Center. There is a local person that will be purchasing the Hoover Center. There is an equity group out of New York, they’re actually out of England, but that will be purchasing Finn Hall. So those are the bigger items that have sold.” – Mary Babcock, City Manager, City of Hancock

In a release from the state receiver, O’Keefe says that he recently filed motions to abandon six remaining Finlandia University properties. Further stating

“We have extensively marketed the properties we are abandoning with little to no interest. The secured lenders have been unwilling to participate with a national real estate marketing firm for an auction, initially anticipated to be in October, or fund ongoing expenses during this process. We have the practical concern of saving and generating dollars to pay teachers who have deferred summer salaries and pay creditors in the community who have supported Finlandia. We are not able to fund the necessary costs to carry these properties through the winter months which have little to no equity in the receivership estate, Right now, that is our intention, unless a legitimate offer to buy these properties comes forth in the interim.” – Patrick O’Keefe, Finlandia University State Receiver, O’Keefe LLC

O’Keefe LLC expects the motion hearing to take place in late September. Find a full copy of the firm’s press release here.