By Ken Epstein

When the Holy Names University Board of Trustees declared in December 2022 that the college was closing, they said they could not afford to remain open and were under pressure to repay a recent $50 million loan.

However, the lender, Preston Hollow Community Capital (PHCC), is saying something quite different. In a recent letter to City of Oakland officials, the lender wrote:

“It is important that we make two things abundantly clear. 1) HNU decided, on its own and over PHCC’s objections, to close down – despite the fact that we have expressed a clear and ongoing commitment to help them overcome their challenges; and 2) PHCC is committed to doing everything it can to keep this campus as an institution of higher education rather than watch it be bought and sold to the highest bidder for some other purpose,” including “potentially for luxury real estate development.”

In the letter, Preston Hollow describes itself as “a leading social impact investor in the United States. We invest in and assist projects of significant social and economic importance to local communities.”

For example, in January they created a project to assist Howard University, assist the historically Black college, in Wash., D.C., with a $300 million tax-exempt bond-financing arrangement.

In its letter to Oakland officials, Preston Hollow reached out to work with the city to save the campus as a center for higher education in Oakland.

“Please accept this letter as the beginning of a line of dialogue between PHCC and Oakland city leaders,” the letter said. “We are committed to working with you collaboratively – and hopefully with HNU’s collaboration as well.”

Some people in the Oakland community are questioning whether HNU’s leaders are interested in seeking alternatives to closing the institution and selling the property.

After HNU’s trustees closure announcement in December, several community leaders asked for a meeting with Board of Trustees Chair Steven Borg to offer assistance, a meeting  he refused to attend.

In January, other leaders asked for a meeting with Borg to discuss a specific proposal for a partnership to keep the campus open. That meeting request was also refused.

Recently, Oakland City Council members have been working to find a way to preserve the mission of educating the university’s multiracial student body as teachers, nurses, social workers and undergraduates at the beautiful 60-acre campus with gorgeous views overlooking Oakland and the San Francisco Bay.

In response to Oakland Post questions, Borg did not offer to collaborate with Preston Hollow but criticized the letter for “false and misleading information while also claiming to be operating in good faith with HNU.”

He said HNU’s commitment is to operate the college until May 2023 and to “get the highest value for the property.”

He said that HNU had not missed any payments on its $50 million loan. “Instead, the default was technical in nature.”

This week, faculty and staff at HNU are meeting to discuss these new developments and to consider options that may exist to continue a higher education institution on the campus.

One possibility that excites many members of the Oakland community is the possibility of a partnership with a Historically Black College or University as part of a comprehensive plan to maintain the campus as a center of higher education.

Holy Names is an accredited, Roman Catholic, co-educational university founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1868. Originally established as the Convent of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart by six members of a teaching order from Quebec, Canada, the original site of the convent was on the shores of Lake Merritt. In 1957, the school moved to its present location in the Oakland hills.

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