Dowling College campus top bidder out; NCF Capital new buyer

NCF Capital Ltd., the second-place bidder in the bankruptcy auction of Dowling College’s Oakdale campus, will buy the 25-acre property for $26.1 million after the winning bidder failed to close on its offer, court documents show.

NCF Capital, which was identified as the auction’s “backup bidder” in court documents, placed the second highest offer behind Princeton Education Center LLC’s $26.5 million winning bid in April.

NCF is identified in court documents as an “educational end user” of the property, but further information about its location and plans weren’t disclosed.

Attorneys for NCF Capital did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

Princeton Education, which had planned to operate a private K-12 school licensed by New York State, did not close on the sale last week, said Andy Graiser, co-president of Melville-based A&G Realty.

“We were supposed to close last week and they didn’t close,” Graiser said. “So we just moved right up to our backup bidder.” He added, “Those things do happen in bankruptcy sales.”

A&G Realty and Madison Hawk Partners of Manhattan marketed the Oakdale property.

Princeton was initially obligated to close on the property sale by May 26, but was granted an extension to secure needed funds. On June 19, a day before the new closing date deadline, Princeton notified Dowling and its creditors it wouldn’t be able to close in time “because it did not have the funds,” according to court documents.

The auction of the campus, which included the stately Vanderbilt mansion, began with sealed bids. Five qualified bidders were selected to participate in an auction in East Meadow.

Each of the three highest bidders, including NCF, was an educational end user, court documents said. Each of the two lowest bids were made by a “redeveloper.”

Dowling College ran out of funds, lost its accreditation and closed in August. The liberal arts college said it had $54 million in long-term debt, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.

The college estate faced 626 claims totaling $65.8 million filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Eastern District of New York in Central Islip by creditors, vendors, college officials, faculty and staff.