Morehouse College hired Cushman & Wakefield to manage its 66-acre campus in Atlanta, the latest institution of higher education to farm out property oversight to a commercial real estate services provider.
C&W Services, a division of Cushman & Wakefield, will provide Morehouse with maintenance, landscaping, operations, and janitorial services, according to the company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Colleges and universities are struggling with the impact that declining enrollments are having on revenue and are looking for ways to gain more financial efficiencies through campus management, according to C&W Services. Higher education institutions also have complex issues related to planning future buildings and the maintenance of existing structures.
"This collaboration reflects our commitment to providing world-class facilities management that supports Morehouse’s mission to develop future leaders,” C&W Services CEO Mia Mends said in a news release.
C&W Services will also assess energy usage at the Morehouse campus and provide solutions for using sustainable energy sources and cost savings.
Tuskegee University, a historically Black university in Alabama, hired JLL in March to manage 100 buildings on its campus. In addition to daily management operations, JLL is also advising the school with capital planning and the best uses for aging infrastructure.
The Morehouse campus in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood includes 1.4 million square feet of buildings, including dorms, classrooms and athletic facilities.
Morehouse, a historically Black college for men with an enrollment of about 2,300 students, counts Martin Luther King Jr. and actor Samuel L. Jackson among its alumni.
C&W Services also provides campus management services to Clark Atlanta University, an HBCU located next to Morehouse College.