From the JAYwalk
Austin Manor sale allows for campus improvements
In September, Ohio Wesleyan purchased two strategically located properties using a portion of the proceeds from the August sale of Austin Manor. They include a residence at 145 W. William St. that separated the Smith and Welch halls student parking lots (the house was demolished in November and will be incorporated into student parking in the summer) and a home at 46 Hayes St., the only non-OWU structure in its immediate vicinity.
The University sold Austin Manor, which was constructed in 1923 to accommodate the growing number of women who enrolled at OWU after World War I, to Columbus-based RiverWest Partners, LLC., which will continue to operate it as a rental community and retain the name in the short term.
The building was named for Cyrus B. Austin, Class of 1879, a longtime University dean. Austin Manor was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and renovated into luxury apartments in 1988. The Board of Trustees authorized the use of $865,000 from the sale for repairs to Beeghly Library.