By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The University of Connecticut is purchasing a house that will be the new home to its incoming president and be used for other school functions.

The school's Board of Trustees agreed to spend $740,000 last week to purchase a 5,000-square-foot (464.51-sq. meter), single-family home that sits on 5.29 acres (2 hectares) in Storrs, Connecticut.

The home, which the school said also will be used for campus events, will replace Oak Hill, the presidential residence that was built in 1940.

UConn said no taxpayer money or tuition funds will be used to buy the property. Instead, the school will use funds generated from rental and other income from university-owned real estate.

The new house is the same one rented by the school from 2008-2010 for former President Michael Hogan. He refused to live in in Oak Hill due to mold issues.

The school has been leasing the 18-year-old house from a couple who had announced plans to put in on the market.

School officials said Oak Hill, where current president Susan Herbst lives, would require more than $1 million in repairs, including the installation of a new slate roof and a new heating and air conditioning system.

The university has not said what it plans to do with Oak Hill, which has been designated a historic building.

The incoming president, Thomas Kasouleas, is expected to move into the new house when his term as president begins on Aug. 1.

The house was originally built 18 years ago by former UConn Provost John Peterson, who had leased the land from the state. It was sold to the current owners in 2004 for $925,000.

UConn spent nearly $500,000 to renovate the home during Hogan's tenure.

UConn said two separate outside appraisals of the home put the current value of the house and property between $765,000 and $803,000.

The university currently pays no rent on the home, but is responsible for real estate taxes, utilities, property expenses, and maintenance and upkeep of the home under the terms of the lease.