After Medaille University closed, its Buffalo campus found a second life

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When Medaille University closed its doors in 2023, it left behind a 14-acre campus in Buffalo, and a question facing communities across New York: What happens to the buildings when a college is gone? In Buffalo, those buildings are getting a second life as a high school, but turning a former college campus into something new isn’t as easy as it may look.

When Medaille closed three years ago, former student Kortni Ferrari wasn’t just thinking about the school she once attended. Korni was also wondering what would happen to the campus itself.

“Honestly, I was kind of shocked because this has been a college campus for years," said Ferarri. "And there’s a lot of historical history here before Medaille was Medaille, so I was kind of sad.”   

Ferrari now works on her former college campus, but instead of being a college student, she's helping recruit the next generation of Buffalo Academy of Science Students. BuffSci superintendent Joseph Polat said the campus became an opportunity the school couldn’t pass up.

“We were at the small building in downtown, which was a great location, great building," said Ferarri. "But as BuffSci grew, we had more students that could not fit in that small building.”

The charter school purchased the campus for about $11 million, but a former college isn’t naturally ready to become a high school. BuffSci spent two years navigating state requirements and adjusting spaces built for college students.

“We find out that the college is considered as business," said Polot. "And converting a business building into a school building, it requires the highest level of review and highest level of additional improvement needs to those buildings.”

And the changes are visible throughout the campus. According to BuffSci principal Ashley Piazza, former college offices became classrooms, lockers were added, doorways had to be widened, and spaces like the lecture halls, gyms and cafeteria were given new purposes.

“We didn’t want to if we didn’t have to, we wanted it to feel as much like a college campus as possible," said Piazza. "All of this is the way Medaille kept it, and we wanted to preserve it and the memory of Medaille, which is why we call ourselves BuffSci at Medaille. There’s the memory there.”

But Medaille’s story isn’t just about one Buffalo campus. Former interim president Lori Quigley said the university's closure reflects a much larger challenge facing private colleges across New York.

“I think that the closing of these colleges and universities in New York state, is a wake up call to everyone that is in, quote unquote, our business of higher education," said Quigley.

Besides the financial challenges, the uncertainty over the campus was something much more personal for Quigley.

“It was not easy saying goodbye," said Quigley. "It was not easy seeing all the tears. Because I believe that the Medaille community truly loved being part of the Medaille community. And it was a very, very difficult period of time. I still think to this day I have a little bit of PTSD from it.”

That loss is something Ferrari remembers firsthand as a Class of 2017 graduate.

“It means everything," said Ferrari. "I feel like with one door closing, it's so cliche to say, but there’s always another one that’s going to open.”

BuffSci said it plans to continue expanding its use of the campus, giving the property a new purpose while preserving pieces of the institution’s history.

There are, however, still parts of the former Medaille property that aren’t being used. Quigley said some of the former dormitories remain vacant, including relatively new residence halls with suites and private bathrooms, and she said what ultimately happens to those buildings remains to be seen.