UNR readies sale of 55 acres at Reno's McCarran and Mill

The University of Nevada,Reno, is taking steps toward sale of a 55-acre parcel of vacant land at Mill Street and McCarran Boulevard one of the largest pieces of undeveloped land available within the Truckee Meadows.

The university hopes to auction the property for at least $12 million, and potential buyers already are beginning to circle.

While no date has been set for the auction, university officials would like to get it done within 60 to 90 days, said Robert Lichtenstein, the university's director of real estate.

The results of the auction will require approval of the school's board of regents, and the sales price must at least match the value an appraiser recently placed on the land.

"Word is getting out,"Lichtenstein said last week."There's been a fair amount of interest."

The land is zoned for industrial use.

Paul Perkins, senior vice president in the industrial properties group of Colliers International, said a developer might use the property's high traffic counts along Mill Street as well as along McCarran to develop retail spaces along the property's edges, while developing industrial buildings on its interior.

Along with a price tag of $12 million or more, Perkins said the purchaser probably will need to make an investment in filling low-lying areas on some the property, which has been used to graze cattle.

The pasture historically was used by UNR as part of its agricultural experiment station, but busy traffic along McCarran Boulevard prevented the movement of herds of cattle from the main experiment station east of the boulevard to the 55-acre parcel.

Lichtenstein said university officials are particularly motivated to begin selling some of the school's unused land holdings because they need to raise money to start acquiring property for a 25-year plan to develop facilities at the primary campus north of downtown Reno.