UConn’s board of trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of the school’s Greater Hartford campus property to the town of West Hartford, for a much smaller pricetag than originally anticipated.
Revised terms for the deal, which West Hartford’s town council approved Tuesday night, include the university selling the property to the town for $1 million, down from an original $5 million pricetag.
As part of the agreement, UConn would receive 90 percent of the proceeds if West Hartford resells the property before Oct. 1, 2026, the university said.
UConn is vacating the 58-acre location to move operations to its new campus in downtown Hartford, and had been working with West Hartford on terms of the potential sale since announcing the move.
“Our shared goal was for UConn to sell the property to the town at a price that was affordable for the town, given the environmental costs associated with the campus and their potential budget challenges,” said Scott Jordan, UConn’s executive vice president for administration and chief financial officer. “This agreement accomplishes that.”
The town has given UConn $250,000 and owes a balance of $750,000, said West Hartford Deputy Mayor Leon Davidoff, who voted for the proposal Tuesday night.
“While the town has the power of zoning authority over the parcel I think it’s better to have the power of ownership,” Davidoff said.
The council vote was five to three in favor of the proposal, he said.
The arrangement lets UConn avoid the risk of long-term maintenance costs at the site after operations move to Hartford, and provides the ability to recoup a significant portion of the value with the 90 percent share of the resale price.
Under terms of the prior agreement, the town would have paid $5 million as a minimum price and would have provided 90 percent of any resale price to UConn. The minimum price was renegotiated to $1 million in light of potential environmental issues at the site and the town’s budget challenges. The town’s obligation to share the proceeds from a resale was retained and extended for an additional two years to 2026.
