Soon-to-shutter Trinity Christian College campus up for sale

Trinity Christian College, which is set to close this year, is listed for sale and is being marketed as a possible redevelopment.

Commercial real estate firm CBRE was named the listing firm last week for the 60-acre property in Palos Heights, about 10 miles south of Midway Airport. CBRE's Anne Rahm, Matt Ishikawa and Tom Svoboda are the listing agents.

Rahm said there’s already been a “great deal of interest” in the campus from local to national buyers, including residential developers and academic institutions.

“We're very pleased with the level of interest at this point,” Rahm said.

Trinity's Board of Trustees announced Nov. 4, 2025, that it would close at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. Spring commencement will take place May 8, but its academic calendar lists a summer semester, which ends Aug. 28.

Trinity Christian College Acting President Jeanine Mozie said in a message to the university last year that the board considered many options in the face of “significant and rapidly evolving financial challenges” before voting to close. Trinity also cited “persistent operating deficits; a decline in college enrollment and increased competition for students; and a shift in donor giving and financial circumstances” as reasons for its closure.

Trinity is among a field of other small, private colleges and universities that have shuttered in recent years like Lincoln Christian University in 2024, due in large part to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are seeing a lot of small, small colleges and universities closing their doors, especially in the Midwest,” Rahm said. “They're typically in remote locations. That's why this is a very rare opportunity because it is outside of Chicago.”

The campus has 22 buildings that total 467,019 square feet. There's also four residence halls totaling 148,819 square feet and 590 beds, as well as 928 parking spaces, according to listing details.

Rahm said the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium, which seats nearly 1,200, has been kept in “beautiful” condition.

“They've done an incredible job of keeping everything very up to date with minimal deferred maintenance,” Rahm said of the campus.

Trinity purchased the land in the 1950s. It was originally developed as a golf course, according to CBRE. The campus still has the original clubhouse.

Potential uses at the site include a mixed-use development or recreational, medical or residential projects, though CBRE thinks a new academic institution is most likely to take over property.

Rahm said if Trinity finds a buyer before the end of the academic year, a sale could close by September.

There’s no listing price for the property. Rahm said CBRE is testing the market on pricing and waiting for feedback from potential buyers.

The class of 2026 will be the last graduating class at Trinity, with undergraduate students in good academic standing eligible to transfer to other universities with “teach-out agreements.” The agreements — with universities including Wheaton College, Calvin University and Saint Xavier University — give benefits to students above what is typically provided in a typical college transfer, according to Trinity.