Atlanta Christian College, which flirted with moving its campus to Peachtree City or Newnan, has instead decided to move even further from metro Atlanta.
The school announced Wednesday that it will begin classes in West Point next year, renovating the former headquarters of West Point-Pepperell for its primary academic building. The school will be selling its current campus, located in a residential area of East Point.
The school has committed to keep its current programs offered in Peachtree City for dual-credit enrollment high school students and adult learners, officials said.
Fayette and Coweta officials in 2008 began wooing ACC officials in a bid to land the college here.
In conjunction with the move to West Point, ACC will change its name to Point University and add club sports in football, softball and cross country, with the hopes of competing in the NAIA in football next fall. The college won the 2010 NCCAA Division II national championship in baseball.
The school plans to renovate existing buildings in downtown West Point for its auditorium and chapel, and students will have access to a 54,000 square foot sports complex for recreational and university sports programs, the school said in a press release. Student housing at first will be in a “nearby quality apartment community,” officials said.
In a second phase, the school will build student dorms to create a “walkable campus amid shops and restaurants,” along with construction of new athletic facilities.
“Our East Point campus is surrounded by residential property, and campus master planning experts and other consultants advised us in recent years that our current campus could not accommodate planned growth,” said Atlanta Christian College President Dean Collins. “We’ve been searching for nearly four years for a place that would give us the ability to grow in every aspect of campus life—from enrollment to constructing additional dorms and athletic facilities—and the thriving community of West Point and the Greater Valley Area had everything we were looking for.”
Since the college’s trustees began searching for a new location for its traditional student programs in 2007, its enrollment has nearly tripled. Part of this growth is attributed to the take-off of the college’s Access program for working adults seeking degrees, which was launched in 2008.
Founded in 1937, Atlanta Christian College is a private, four-year liberal arts institution preparing students to influence all spheres of culture for Christ. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Atlanta Christian College offers associate and bachelor’s degrees in 11 areas of study.
