104-acre McCarran parcel sale in Reno approved by Nevada's Board of Regents
Submitted by editor on Mon, 11/19/2018 - 5:41pm
RENO — The Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education at its Nov. 16 meeting in Las Vegas, the sale of a 104-acre parcel at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Main Station Field Laboratory for $18 million, the appraised value of the property.
The University had attempted to find a buyer through a Request for Proposal process, which didn’t attract buyers who were able to ultimately meet the conditions of the RFP. The minimum bid for the RFP was $20 million. A new appraisal, including new information about flood mitigation and infrastructure requirements, adjusted the price to $18 million. The sale was then conducted through a broker on the open market.
Reno Land Inc. has offered $18 million for the property and the University and Reno Land, Inc are now under contract.
The proceeds of the sale will be used for several projects:
— To renovate the Nevada Agriculture Experiment Station Valley Road laboratories
— Develop research capabilities at the J Dow NAES wetlands
— Build ADA compliant classrooms at Main Station Field Lab
— Construction of the Eureka Agriculture Center for Range and Sheep Improvement
— Development of the International Center of Dryland Agriculture
— An endowed professorship for indoor/urban agriculture
— Support the plan to develop a research/Cooperative Extension facility in Clark County, and renovations of critical laboratory facilities on the University’s main campus for the benefit of all students, research faculty and staff.
The Main Station Field Laboratory will be approximately 762 acres following the sale of this parcel and a 40-acre parcel off of Pembroke Drive that is up for sale.
The Main Station Field Lab is a major research, educational, and outreach facility operated by the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station within the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources at the University. It has been home to herds of cattle and sheep and actively irrigated to grow alfalfa, hay and other crops since 1956. The field lab, also known as the Main Station Farm, is home to Wolf Pack Meats, one of the most technologically advanced meat processing plants in the region, which is used to teach meat sciences, for research and is open commercially to the public.
The 104-acre parcel, known as the McCarran Planned Unit Development, is at the west side of the Main Station Field Lab along McCarran Boulevard roughly between Mill Street and Pembroke Drive.
At the meeting, the Regents also rescinded the 1981 Board Resolution 81-8 with respect to the sale proceeds, so the parcel sale proceeds can be used to fund the current proposed projects. The 1981 resolution would have restricted use of any sale proceeds to mostly CABNR initiatives.
The Board of Regents also heard an update from the University about conservation easement efforts underway to protect the Main Station Field Laboratory from residential or commercial development. The easement would forever preserve the availability of the property for agricultural use and to preserve educational, research, outreach and agricultural opportunities for the University’s faculty and students. The conservation easement is not intended to limit the University’s discretion on its choices of education, research, outreach and agricultural uses and management practices.
The University’s request to protect the approximately 762 acres of the Main Station Field Lab via conservation easement was approved at the Board of Regents June 2018 meeting.
— Mike Wolterbeek is a Communications Officer for the University of Nevada, Reno. He can be reached at mwolterbeek@unr.edu
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