Westmoreland is the 404-unit family housing complex roughly three miles off campus. The University put it up for sale in October 2005 and found a buyer in May. It generates about $400,000 annually, which is deposited into an overhead fund that covers all University housing.
The $17.4 million netted by the University from the sale will be used to retire a $10.2 million debt to the Oregon University System Consolidated Debt Pool, into which the University pays an additional $1.1 million in interest each year for seven years and is a fund that the University has benefited little from. Frohnmayer said it should save the University roughly $7 million.
At least $500,000 will be spent on the mitigation costs of current Westmoreland tenants. Financial grants offered to those who have already moved out of Westmoreland
increased from $150 to $300. The University also plans to subsidize any rent increases until June 2008 for those currently living or who plan to return to Westmoreland. Frohnmayer called it the “best rental deal available in the Eugene Springfield, or perhaps in any university community in the United States.”
The funds will also be spent on purchasing “strategic properties,” including the Joe Romania lot on the south side of Franklin Boulevard between Walnut and Orchard streets from the UO Foundation and another property from the Department of Transportation that could eventually be used for future dorms or parking. He said the properties will not be used for a basketball arena.
By purchasing the Romania lot, the University will also be able to save $400,000 per year that it was paying in property taxes to the UO Foundation, which was holding the property for the University.