By ANDY CASTILLO
TURNERS FALLS — There might still be some hope for resurrecting the Hallmark Institute of Photography.
Alumnus and established New York City photographer Bill Diodato said this week that with the right partners, and for the right price, he would be willing to try to revive the 41-year-old photo school slated to close in October.
“With the right investors I think it can be saved,” Diodato said Thursday.
Will Bast, a spokesman for Premier Education Group, the for-profit vocational education company that bought Hallmark in 2009 but is now closing it, confirmed that the school property is for sale.
As listed on Colebrook Realty Services Inc.’s website, the Springfield-based broker facilitating the sale, the school’s 241 Millers Falls Road property is being listed as two separate lots, with a total asking price of roughly $2.5 million.
First, the school’s approximately 37,000-square-foot education center, on just over six acres of land is listed at $1.75 million. Second, the 11,686-square-foot administration building, on about three acres, is listed at $800,000.
Town records value the administration building at almost $700,000 and the education center at around $1.8 million.
“Simplifying this would be great, and I’d love to see it re-energized,” Bast said about the possibility of the school continuing with another owner.
Diodato said to keep costs low, he’d be interested only in purchasing the education center.
After graduating from Hallmark in 1987, Diodato moved to New York and began a professional photography career. On his website, billdiodato.com, there’s a long list of big-name clients, including Victoria’s Secret, Avon, Men’s Health Magazine and Nike.
“I’d love to see the school continue and he’d be a great person to run it” said Ed Martin, a former president and executive director at the school, about Diodado’s proposal.
At age 49, Diodato said he’s searching for partners, with enough investment capital, who are interested in seeing the school’s legacy continue.
“It could be a potentially long-term investment and a good next step for me,” he continued. “Hopefully we find, in the interest of education, a couple of partners for this.”
While Diodato’s intentions come as good news for many Hallmark alumni who have expressed sadness about the school’s impending closure, it’s not as easy as simply purchasing property.
Revitalizing the school would be a large undertaking. In addition to the price tag, Chris Goetcheus, spokesman for the state Office of Consumer Affairs, said a new owner would have to get the school relicensed with the state.
Hallmark is accredited through the national agency Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. According to a document on the agency’s website, Hallmark renewed its accreditation for five years in February 2014.
Goetcheus said Hallmark will have a license long enough for the 10 students currently enrolled in the school to finish.
As far as why the school closed, Bast said it wasn’t a profitable investment.
“For-profit schools are an unloved stepchild,” he said Thursday. “The state of Mass. was aggressively trying to get us to leave the state — they just don’t want any for-profit schools.”
The school opened in 1975 and offered a 10 month, 1,400-hour certificate program. For many years, Hallmark was known as a prestigious school for photography education with speakers including well-known photographers such as Life Magazine photographers Mary Ellen Mark and Douglas Kirkland.
More recently, Hallmark battled bad press and a negative online presence remnant from former President George J. Rosa III’s 2014 guilty plea to embezzlement. The Department of Justice said Rosa spent $2.6 million of company funds on personal purchases.
“That made it really difficult for us; there was just so much online negativity,” Bast continued.
Despite the odds, Diodato said he intends to move forward in negotiations.
“I’m hoping that people will reach out,” the photographer added, “who are really interested in trying to save it.”
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263
On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo