Selling the farm: UNR closer to selling 16% of its farm land in Reno for millions in cash

Siobhan McAndrew | Reno Gazette-Journal

The University of Nevada, Reno is closer to selling 144 acres of its 915-acre farm that has been used for teaching and research since 1956.

A committee that oversees the financial and facility decisions for the Nevada System of Higher Education agreed to allow UNR to sell a 104-acre plot on Mill Street and McCarran Boulevard and another 40 acres at the southeastern end of the farm.

The final decision, which would allow UNR to sell both properties without disclosing the buyers or for what purpose the land would be used, will be voted on by the 13-member Board of Regents at a meeting on Friday.

Normally, UNR would have to seek full board approval, with details of the sale, but this means the sale could moves forward without that vote.

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"The university is not ignoring agriculture,” UNR President Marc Johnson said about criticism over the sale. He said the parcels' sale will provide cash to renovate lab spaces that are needed at the growing institution.

More than a dozen people showed up at the meeting on Thursday to voice concerns on the sale. They included what would be put on the land, if UNR has the legal right to sell the land and what the money would be used for by university officials.

Reno attorney and UNR graduate Angela Bader said she didn't believe there was enough transparency in the deals being made by the university.

"Are we going to have a slaughterhouse next to a place where people are working, eating and shopping?" she asked, referencing UNR's meatpacking facility on the farm.

Johnson said UNR is committed to preserving the more than 700 acres of remaining farm for research and teaching.

He also asserted that UNR has the right to sell.

"It is important to set the record straight," Johnson said of the land that the university bought using state funds. He said the land was not gifted to the university, and UNR has the right to sell the property.

UNR announced in March it was selling the parcels, about 16 percent of the Main Station Farm's acreage.

The 104-acre plot was put up for bid for the minimum asking price of $20 million.

Johnson said UNR is working with a buyer who has offered over the asking price. He said he could not provide details on the potential buyer but the price was slightly over $20 million.

Johnson expects the sale to go through in the coming weeks with escrow on the land closing before the next Board of Regents meeting in September.

The 40 acres along Pembroke Drive and the Southeast Connector currently is for sale and UNR is working with prospective buyers.