Avondale College officials say the approval December 5 of a AU$1 billion dollar public housing project on land owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cooranbong will secure the future of the church-run school by funding its first endowment.

Beyond providing financial security, the endowment is expected to help move the college toward university status, said Francois Keet, Avondale’s vice president for Finance.

In an interview shortly after the New South Wales state planning minister approved the project, developer Keith Johnson said the move was the “best use” of church assets. The nearly 900-acre plot, slated as a conservation zone, would have drained millions of dollars in church funds to meet and maintain conservation standards, he said.

Johnson told InFocus he has been fighting bureaucratic red tape for nine years to get the land rezoned for housing. “It’s rewarding after this many years to see this outcome. I think it’s a win-win for everybody,” he said.

The 10-15 year project is expected to provide 2,500 new houses and 5,000 jobs in the area, said state planning minister Kristina Keneally.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2009, Johnson said. “We’re planning to have our first houses on the market by the middle of next year.”

Avondale College will have to wait slightly longer to benefit from the project. Speaking “realistically,” Johnson ventured the school would begin seeing the expected financial returns within five years.

“It will take a huge burden off the finances of the college,” Johnson said. “If [Avondale] invests wisely, it’s a future for Adventist education in this [region].”

Avondale College is a private institution of higher education offering a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational courses.