Mayor James J. Fiorentini > Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2007

Mayor Announces Sale of Bradford College to Zion Bible College

Mayor James J. Fiorentini today joined with officials from the Angelo-Gordon Development Company and Zion Bible College to announce the sale of Bradford College to a private development group. The development group, will, in turn arrange for Zion Bible College of Rhode Island to re-locate to the former Bradford College site.

Mayor Fiorentini, who has met regularly with officials from Zion, the developer and Angelo-Gordon called it “one of the greatest days in the history of our City.”

Fiorentini said that the sale meant that the former Bradford College site would remain as an educational institute which he called “a far better alternative for Haverhill than another housing development.”

Fiorentini said that the use of Bradford College by Zion Bible College fit exactly with Bradford College’s tradition:

“Bradford College has a long history as a religious and missionary institution. Some of the earliest graduates of then-Bradford Academy were missionaries sent to other parts of the world. Ann Haseltine-Judson, whom Haseltine Hall and Haseltine Street in Bradford were named after, was the first female American missionary to Burma and a notable early Bradford Academy alumna,” Mayor Fiorentini stated.

“The new Bradford College used by Zion Bible College will fit exactly into that great tradition,” the Mayor added.

Fiorentini said that the sale to Zion Bible College happened because the zoning laws in Bradford prohibited the use by anything other than an educational institution without special permission from the City:

“Last year I flew to New York and met with officials from Angelo-Gordon Company. I made it crystal clear to them that the City wanted an educational institution, not a housing developer. I also made it clear that we would work proactively with them to speed up the permitting and to provide any other assistance we could, if the use were educational. The people of Bradford and Bradford College Neighborhood Association stood steadfast and firm that the former college remain as an education facility. The constant and unrelenting pressure eventually led to the sale. I salute the efforts and dedication of the Bradford College Neighborhood Association in realizing this achievement,” the Mayor added.