The former Sterling College campus in Craftsbury is now on the market, weeks after the small private college held its last classes this spring. The 165-acre property at 16 Sterling Drive is being marketed as-is by Burlington brokerage V/T Commercial, with no formal asking price.
Prospective buyers can tour the campus on July 6, 8, or 10, 2026, by appointment. Offers must be submitted by 5 p.m. on July 20, 2026, and must include a proposed price, intended use, proof of financial qualification, prior acquisition experience, and a proposed closing date, according to the listing.
The property includes 26 buildings totaling more than 85,000 square feet. Twelve primary structures, dorms, classrooms, offices, a library, dining hall, two commercial kitchens, and a bouldering gym, make up 65,210 square feet. The dorms have 110 beds. Sixteen outbuildings (20,437 square feet) house workshops for trades such as woodworking, blacksmithing, gardening, and sugaring. Outdoor features include a soccer field, climbing tower, ropes course, gardens, and production fields. Two residential structures, Cedar Cottage and the Parsonage, are not included.
About 35% of the land is cleared; 82 acres of forest are enrolled in Vermont's current use program. Wetlands border the Black River. Municipal water serves the developable portion; septic systems are required. Two power purchase agreements from solar panels benefit the site.
Sterling College closed at the direction of its board of trustees after years of declining enrollment and rising costs, the listing states. Enrollment peaked at 120 students and fell to about 40 in its final year, according to earlier reports. Founded in 1958 as a boys' preparatory school, it became an accredited four-year college in 1974, offering degrees in ecology, environmental humanities, outdoor education, and sustainable agriculture. It operated as a work college, with students helping run the farm, dorms, and kitchen.
Sterling is the seventh private college in Vermont to close since 2016, according to reports from Vermont Public and The Hechinger Report.
NEK will be looking into the outcome of the sale and whether the property will remain in educational use.
Originally reported by The North Star Monthly.
Photo: Sterling College (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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