Miracle Valley Bible College

Miracle Valley Bible College

Contact Us

  1. Dan Coxworth, AICP

    Director
    Email Dan Coxworth
    Phone: 520-432-9268

Background

The community of Miracle Valley was founded in rural Cochise County in 1959 by evangelist A. A. Allen, who established the Miracle Valley Bible College on 1,240 acres of land just north of the international border. In the 1960s, A.A. Allen ran one of the largest ministries in the country from the property, where he constructed housing, recreation facilities and church buildings.

After A. A. Allen's death in 1970, the Miracle Valley community faced internal disputes, legal challenges, and financial difficulties. The Bible college struggled to maintain its operations, and the community eventually disbanded.

Today, what remains of the property includes approximately 37.54 acres developed with multiple vacant buildings including a shower/laundry, fire department, auto service, church building, public building, apartment building, boy’s dorm, girl’s dorm, chapel, library, classroom, administration building, and tabernacle.

Location map

Project Timeline 

  • March 2022: Property deeded to the State/ under the care of the County.
  • October 2022: Limited Regulated Building Material (RBM) Report finalized. This work included asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), lead-based paint (LBP), and hazardous materials survey. The purpose of this RBM survey was to evaluate the presence of ACMs, LBP in fair and/or poor condition, and other hazardous materials that would require special handling and/or disposal during building renovations or demolition in accordance with applicable federal and local regulations.
  • October/November 2022: The County contracted to remove illegal dumping on the south side of the property. Cost: $39,393Before
  • December 2022: County staff received a quote from a local abatement firm to remove, package, transport, and dispose of hazardous waste (>1% asbestos) identified by the RBM.
  • February 2023 Asbestos Abatement of Dome: The County contracted with a licensed company to remove asbestos (>1%) material from the dome. Cost: $17,308.  
  • May 2023 and July 2023  Board of Supervisors Work Sessions: The Board directed staff to provide no additional property abatement and proceed with an immediate “as-is” auction sale.
  • September 11, 2023: The property, without the hazardous material remediation recommended by the RBM, was placed on the public auction. Despite receiving multiple bids, the auction was not successful, and none of the bidders elected to move forward with the property purchase.

Next Steps:

November 2023- May 2024:  The county will continue hazardous material abatement activity as recommended by the RBM study. Following property abatement, the property will be placed up for auction. A summer 2024 auction date is anticipated.

building key miracle valley
  1. What is the current status of the Miracle Valley Bible College?
  2. Why does the County want to sell the Miracle Valley Bible College property?
  3. Can I visit the Miracle Valley property?
  4. What is the zoning of the property and what type of future uses are permitted?
  5. Is the Miracle Valley property a designated historic district or on the national register of historic places?
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