WINONA, Minn. – Desperate to sell its 217,000-square foot Lourdes dorm, Winona State has accepted a drastically lower appraisal. The century-old dorm can be had for $760,000, university Vice President Scott Ellinghuysen confirmed. The university paid $5 million for Lourdes and two other buildings at the former College of St. Teresa between1999 and 2001 and used them as overflow dorms. Two the buildings were sold after the university shut down its “West Campus,” as the satellite operation at the St. Teresa site was called. Finding a buyer for Lourdes, however, proved difficult at a $3 million asking price. In an interview with the Winona Post, Ellinghuysen put an upbeat spin on the financial drain of the university’s whole failed St. Teresa venture and Lourdes in particular. Lourdes, he said. “served its great purpose for us, but it’s time for somebody else to take it and run with it.” What happens next is in the hands of CBRE, a national commercial realty agency based in Dallas, Texas. Ellinghuysen said. He called the building “pretty amazing” and noted it’s on piece of land in the middle of the city.
