UConn’s board of trustees on Friday unanimously agreed to sell the university’s former West Hartford campus for $5.2 million to New York global fintech Seven Stars Cloud Group.
Friday’s approval comes after financial-technology company SSC announced Tuesday it plans to establish its global headquarters for technology and innovation in West Hartford. Its corporate headquarters will remain in New York.
West Hartford Mayor and trustee Shari G. Cantor did not attend Friday’s meeting to avoid a conflict of interest, university officials said.
The sale and purchase agreement are expected to be signed next week. The funds from the sale will likely be used for capital projects, UConn said.
“Once the sale is complete, the company will take all of the risks to work with the town in permitting for the use they intend for it,” said Scott Jordan, UConn’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.
SSC hopes to invest more than $280 million to create a tech hub, called Chain Valley, for blockchain technology and artificial intelligence at the 58-acre vacant campus on Trout Brook Drive. The property currently includes five buildings.
The project will bring 330 jobs, state officials said.
The state will kick in a $10 million loan for renovations at the site. The loan will be forgiven if SSC meets its job targets.
SSC CEO Bruno Wu earlier this week said his company wants West Hartford to collaborate in how to develop the property. Wu also said the company wants to modernize and reuse existing buildings and add more landscaping.
“We have already engaged the best architectural firms that would help us make sure that the campus will become more like a public park,” he said.
In June 2016, UConn and West Hartford agreed to a $5 million sale price for the campus. Both sides later settled on a $1 million purchase price, but concerns over PCB contamination at the site helped scuttle the deal.
As previously reported, UConn earlier this year said it would appeal West Hartford’s $24 million assessed value of the former campus site.
In fall 2017, UConn moved its operations from West Hartford to downtown Hartford at the former Hartford Times Building.
