Preliminary talks are under way between representatives of Shorter University and Darlington School toward a potential purchase by Shorter of the Darlington Lower School campus.

The lower school campus sits on Shorter Avenue at Horseleg Creek Road.

“Darling­ton is having conversations with Shorter University about our property on Shorter Avenue, and we have been transparent with our faculty and alumni about the fact that we are exploring this,” said Darlington spokeswoman Tannika King.

She said it is too early to discuss possible outcomes.

King said Darlington continues to explore its options when it comes to the campus master plan, as the school has been doing for the past several years.

“I can confirm that we are talking with them,” said Shorter spokeswoman Dawn Tolbert.

It has been obvious for several years that the university has essentially exhausted its potential for growth on its existing main campus.

In recent years, the college located its nursing school on Riverbend Drive and moved the Ledbetter College of Business to the former Goody’s retail space in the MidTown Crossing Shopping Center. The college runs a shuttle bus service to and from the main campus to the MidTown Crossing location.

Shorter’s interest in the Darlington Lower School campus, often referred to as Thornwood, the white mansion which faces Shorter Avenue, can be traced to the origins of the mansion itself.

Thornwood was construct­ed in the late 1840s as the home for Alfred Shorter and Martha Bald­win Shorter.

In the early 1870s Alfred Shorter was president of the board of the fledgling Cherokee Baptist Female College that was later renamed Shorter.

Darlington’s Board of Trustees voted in April of 1973 to approve a consolidation with the Thornwood School for Girls.