More than six months after the University announced its intention to sell Westmoreland Apartments and three months after the property went on the market, the deadline for proposals to buy the complex passed Monday without a single bid on the table.
No offers were made, and administrators have switched to using a commercial real estate broker to market the property, according to a University press release issued Monday.
Westmoreland tenants, who were told their current rental agreements would expire June 30 with an optional “holdover” until Aug. 31, now face the prospect that the complex might remain University property. So far, 56 tenants have filed the paperwork to remain at Westmoreland through August, Vice President for Finance and Administration Francis Dyke said.
“Current plans remain in place, and other matters will be discussed should the property remain unsold,” University spokeswoman Mary Stanik wrote in e-mail.
If the complex is not sold by the start of the next school year tenants may also have the option to stay with month-to-month leases, Dyke said.
Because of the lack of interest, the 404-unit family housing complex is still up for sale, said Will Werner, director of real estate
services for Portland firm David Evans and Associates, Inc. which has been selected by the University to publicize and handle the sale. Werner, the official contact, said he was contractually prohibited from discussing any other details with the press.
The University also updated its Westmoreland Web site, vpfa.uoregon.edu/westmoreland, with new information Monday.
The newest document, “Information about purchasing the Westmoreland Village,” is dated Monday and advises potential purchasers “that the conditions and restrictions set forth in the Request for Proposals dated February 6, 2006, as amended, no longer apply.”
Legislative statues mandated that the University draft a document, a request for proposals, publicizing that the property is for sale. Because the University failed to secure any bids, it has abandoned its minimum $18 million price tag and other stipulations in order to obtain better flexibility in negotiating with potential buyer, Dyke said.
The request for proposals also required a hefty bond, which Dyke said dissuaded non-profit developers from making bids. Now that requirement has been lifted.
Some restrictions remain, such as the need for the State Board of Higher Education to give final approval to the sale.
“Once a tentative sale agreement is reached, the university will brief the campus and community on the details of the proposed sale and present the agreement to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education,” according to the University’s press release.
It remains unclear how the University administration will adequately inform the University community if the sale is finalized during the summer months when most of the students and faculty are on break.
“We’re going to have to answer that question, and I’m sure that will be a topic of discussion at the end of this week,” Dyke said.
ASUO Campus Organizer Brett Rowlett said the State Board’s approval process would probably be pushed back from the expected date.
“That wouldn’t happen in June, like we thought, now probably in July or August, but it would still eliminate 50 percent of family housing and majorly impact students,” Rowlett said. “Our goal is that the University drop this proposal.”
Westmoreland residents, the current and future ASUO administration and local state representatives have protested the sale, arguing that selling the property would disperse a diverse community that includes graduate and nontraditional students and students with families.
A majority of student senators also voted Friday to oppose University officials’ plans to sell the student apartment complex.
Bing Li, Westmoreland Tenants Council chairwoman, said she considers the lack of offers only a temporary victory and was hesitant to even consider it.
“I’m happy to hear the news; at the same time, the University has hired a commercial broker,” she said.
She said that it is disappointing that the University has continued to push for the sale despite public outcry.
“There has been a split between the University administration and the students and faculty,” she said. “It’s a good time to stop the sale. It’s a good time to stop that gap.”
Rowlett suggested that, in desperation, the University’s newest attempt to sell the property might be even more destructive than the initial bid.
“If they were to take bids lower than the appraised value, not only would they be taking away student housing – they’d be doing it without getting the funds to do the things they said they would do,” he said.
The University revealed in January that it intended to use proceeds from the sale to pay off millions of dollars in debt to the Oregon University System, to purchase new land and to eventually build new residence halls.