by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

After nearly a decade of legal wrangling, the Claremont School of Theology has finalized a deal to sell the 16 acres of prime Village real estate it has occupied since 1957 back to the Claremont Colleges.

The deal, for $7.7 million, was announced last month after an arbitrator sided with TCC in interpreting the parties’ original 1957 land deal as legally binding.

On February 25 CST will host “Reigniting Our Future,” a free event held at its new campus at Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, to announce its future plans and offer tours of its new facilities. Registration for the event is at CST.edu/FUTURE.

The decision caps a decade-long battle with The Claremont Colleges stemming from the 1957 land agreement that set the price for any future sale of the property and gave TCC the right of first refusal on any potential future transaction. The Claremont School of Theology contended subsequent state law meant the then 60-year-old agreement was no longer binding. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter A. Hernandez disagreed however, and on January 7, 2022 affirmed its legality. The parties then agreed to go into arbitration, with the decision announced in December.

“CST is glad that the final arbitration is over and that both sides can move forward in positive directions,” CST President Grant Hagiya told the Courier. “As a new year brings new possibilities and hope, we are reminded this is also true for our institutions. It is time to leave the past behind and move forward to a greater future for all.”

Claremont Colleges Services CEO Stig Lanesskog did not respond prior to press time Thursday to requests for comment.