After Finlandia University closed in 2023, Hancock purchased Mannerheim, Nikkander, and Wargelin halls out of receivership. Moyle Properties bought Finn Hall and the now Skyline Commons, formerly the Jutila Center. The former Hancock High School, and later Hirvonen Hall under the college, was acquired by Right Start UP to form the Hancock Community Hub.
The city currently owns three buildings, which we are working on renovating to create schematic designs for their revitalization into housing. And so that’s a big process for us. And then we are also working on Wargelin, which was the old library, and that’s probably the hardest to reimagine. So we’re slowly working on that and, uh, the buildings have been cleaned out. – Mary Babcock, City Manager, City of Hancock
Several of the buildings around campus required immediate work after years of deferred maintenance. Since the city’s acquisition of the properties, Hancock leaders have led developers on tours.
Some of that feedback has led to these schematic designs and the grant we received to create them. And I think that there’s a lot of potential for, we have two different developers that are somewhat looking at them, and we’re hoping one of them will take the plunge and create some new space. – Mary Babcock, City Manager, City of Hancock
City Manager Mary Babcock says the former campus has several challenges, including the need for parking near buildings that are converted for residential living.
So, a couple of the challenges that we’re facing within the buildings are the ADA accessibility. There is one elevator in there that makes two floors ADA compliant, but it is a tough situation because they’re built into the hill. – Mary Babcock, City Manager, City of Hancock
Babcock notes that every building from the former university has a new owner. And some have already started to see changes happening. The HCH has rejuvenated a central part of downtown. In Finn Hall, Moyle properties converted the cafeteria for a restaurant into a food market, and will open former dorms as graduate student housing.
It’s amazing to me how people are taking hold of these properties and changing them and progressing them to the thought of putting graduate students in there and then able to use the great cafeteria space or a restaurant. I mean, those are things that we could have only imagined could happen two years ago. – Mary Babcock, City Manager, City of Hancock
The work happening to reimagine the former Finlandia University campus takes time and is expected to continue bringing the area into the Hancock community. Businesses have started moving in, and residential space will become available when conversion projects are completed. Babcock says there are many opportunities to shape the city’s future through the 24 acres in the center of town.
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