Zion Bible College Coming to Haverhill

The Eagle-Tribute reported today that The Hobby Lobby, a national chain of retail hobby stores, is purchasing the Bradford College campus, just one day before the 18-acre campus was to be sold at public auction.

According to Mayor James Fiorentini, The Hobby Lobby is then expected to donate the school to Zion Bible College of Rhode Island.

Hobby Lobby, headquartered in Oklahoma City, has 390 stores in 32 states, not including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to the store's Web site. According to the Tribune, Hobby Lobby founder and CEO David Green, who is worth $2 billion, putting him among the country's 400 wealthiest residents, is of the same religious denomination as Zion College.

The terms of the agreement were not currently being disclosed.

Zion Bible College of Barrington, R.I., is part of the Assemblies of God higher-education system, which includes 19 colleges and universities nationwide. The college has been trying to relocate for several years because it wants more space than it has in Barrington.

Bradford College closed in 2000 after 197 years as a liberal arts school. It was bought over a year later by GFI Partners, an Angelo Gordon & Co. affiliate. The college campus features eight buildings, including three signature halls fronting South Main Street - Academy, Haseltine and Denworth.