Boise State University is set to ask the Idaho State Board of Education for approval to buy a building on Broadway Avenue for nearly $22 million.
The property, at 960 Broadway Ave., is known as University Plaza and is directly across the street from Albertsons Stadium. The purchase request is listed on theboard’s agendafor its Thursday meeting.
The agenda packet describes the property as “adjacent to BSU’s campus with uninterrupted pedestrian connectivity.”
The 90,127-square-foot facility is located on two lots totaling 3.27 acres, including 280 parking spaces in a structured parking facility and 1.43 acres of undeveloped land used for event parking, according to the packet.
The funding source for this project would be institutional reserves and bond proceeds.
BSU already leases 26,000 square feet in the building for university administration, according to the request. The rest of the building is leased as office space to non-BSU tenants.
The building is owned by Pitchfork Management Group LLC, according to Ada County Assessor’s Office records.
BSU spokesman Greg Hahn said the university has thought of purchasing the building before.
“We’ve rented some space there for a while — I believe Finance is in that space with Procurement as well, in addition to some parts of the Office of Information Technology and the General Counsel’s office. Generally it is staff who don’t need to be right on campus,” Hahn said in an email to the Statesman. “We will be asking the State Board for permission to purchase it with our bonding capacity.”
If purchased, the university would allow current tenants of the building to complete the terms of their leases, according to the recommendations in the board packet.The rental leases would bring in $1.33 million annually. The leases have terms ranging from three years to eight years from the proposed purchase date, many with varying renewal options, according to the packet BSU gave the board.
BSU does not plan to move more of campus to the building immediately, as the rent from current tenants will help pay if off, Hahn explained.
“But as the university continues to grow in the future and with space here in the core of Boise so limited, it will be a valuable space for support functions,” he said.
If approved, BSU expects to close on the purchase on or before May 11. A copy of the sale agreement has been provided to the State Board.
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Reporter Ruth Brown covers the criminal justice and correctional systems in Idaho. She focuses on breaking news, public safety and social justice. Prior to coming to the Idaho Statesman, she was a reporter at the Idaho Press-Tribune, the Bakersfield Californian and the Idaho Falls Post Register.
