LOWELL — The tone of the email City Manager Kevin Murphy sent to city councilors shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday was pretty clear.

“More properties acquired by the University. KJM.”

Murphy is referring to commercial buildings at 1485 and 1499 Middlesex St., near the intersection with Pawtucket Street, not far from UML’s South Campus

The buildings were acquired on UML’s behalf by the UMass Building Authority. Purchased from Specialty Materials for $1.6 million, the buildings have a combined assessment of $702,300. They are adjacent parcels and consist of 3,774- and 5,650-square-feet, respectively. The building at 1499 Middlesex St. was originally constructed to house a tool and party rental business; the structure at 1485 Middlesex was built for an automotive oil-change business.

The acquisitions come at a time when city/UML relations are tense, mostly because of UML’s expanding blueprint at the expense of city taxpayers. As a state property, UML does not pay property taxes. The Middlesex properties combined to pay nearly $22,000 in annual taxes to the city this fiscal year.

Earlier this month, UML announced it was acquiring the Perkins Park residential development, on the edge of its East Campus, for $61.5 million. The purchase allegedly stunned city officials, so much so that Chancellor Jacquie Moloney agreed to pay the former mill building’s $321,000 tax bill for the current fiscal year. The building is occupied by many young professionals, just the kind of residents the city has been trying to attract. They’ll have to find new housing.

Another $72,000 came off the tax rolls late last year when UML purchased the former A.H. Notini & Sons property, in the heart of the East Campus, for $5.8 million.

The university’s run on acquisitions has stoked the long-simmering debate about whether it should make a substantial PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) to the city. That’s been something, however, the university is reluctant to do, noting the economic development spin-off of a vibrant research university dwarfs any PILOT.

On the latest acquisition, the building authority notified the city of its purchase in a June 21 letter from General Counsel David P. Mullen to Chief Assessor Susan LeMay.

“The purpose of this letter is to notify you that so long as the property is owned by the authority, it is not subject to real estate taxation by the city of Lowell and the exemption commences on the date of acquisition (June 8,) Mullen wrote. “As a result, the authority has no obligation to pay any part of the tax bill for fiscal year 2016, which has been issued with respect to the property and which covers a period subsequent to June 8, 2016, or any subsequent bills which may be issued.”

According to the city, the FY 2016 tax on 1485 was $9,968.55 and on 1499 $11,957.26.

UMass Lowell’s latest acquisitions didn’t exactly excite City Councilor William Samaras, chairman of the council’s Economic Development Subcommittee. But noting that Murphy met earlier this week with UML Chancellor Moloney to address common issues, Samaras said: “We’re at a point where we could collide and the ramifications of that collision would be disastrous. But what we’re trying to do is integrate the city’s needs with the university’s needs. We have to work it out and have respect for each other.”

According to a UML spokesman, the university plans to invest about $500,000 to renovate the buildings.

The university plans to relocate several of its central services and facilities operations to the properties, including print services, central receiving, vehicle maintenance, carpentry and paint shops, and grounds. Those operations are now housed primarily in academic buildings on the North Campus. The relocation of those operations will allow UML to free up space for academic programs.

Follow Scott on Twitter @cscottlowellsun.