The Town of West Hartford has officially become the owner of UConn’s West Hartford Campus.
The vote was approved unanimously by the UConn Board of Trustees Wednesday morning. The day before, West Hartford’s town council voted to approve buying the property for $1 million.
Town manager Ron Van Winkle told NBC Connecticut that the money was set aside last year and will not impact this year’s budget.
Five buildings are located on the site. Van Winkle said the town may be interested in using some of them.
The property will officially be handed over to the town in October 2017, after students there will have already moved to the Harford UConn campus.
The original price tag was more than $12 million. Van Winkle explained the dramatic price drop to NBC Connecticut.
“In our agreement with UConn is a clawback: that if we buy it for $1 million and sell it for $10 (million) then they get a portion of the profit,” said Van Winkle.
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West Hartford is considering planning a housing development of 55 to 201 homes for the area. If a housing development does go into effect on the 58-acre property, UConn will receive 90 percent of the profit for several years.
If it becomes a housing project, the town would first have to pay about $5 million in cleanup costs before a developer starts any building.
The town is also considering making the area a park. Preliminary plans show ball fields, an orchard and even a dog park. If the property is turned into green space, UConn’s agreement with the town would no longer stand since there would be no revenue generated. The cost to turn it into a park is estimated to be anywhere from $15 to $20 million, which includes cleanup and construction.
Retail development is the one possible plan that is not being considered at this time.
Funds from the sale will be used to offset costs associated with closing the West Hartford campus and moving campus operations to the new downtown Hartford site.
