The University of Oregon Foundation is moving forward with plans to purchase a vacant car lot at 2220 Franklin Blvd., foundation Executive Director Karen Kreft said Tuesday.
“We really felt this was a strategic property to bring into the University’s inventory,” Kreft said.
It is not known what the University will do with the site, Kreft said.
The foundation saw it as a great
opportunity to acquire a valuable piece of property in close proximity
to campus.
She added that the foundation is looking to help change what University President Dave Frohnmayer has said is the University’s status as a “landlocked” campus.
“We’re excited about it just to be able to assist the University with their strategic goals,” Kreft said.
John Moseley, University senior vice president and provost, announced the foundation’s intention to acquire the property during the University Senate’s Jan. 12 meeting.
The site was listed on the public market in December, Kreft said,
and the foundation made an offer shortly afterward.
The organization has entered into a contract with the Romanias, the
owners of the site, and are currently in the “due diligence phase,” Kreft said.
Due diligence refers to the period in which interested buyers examine the potential purchase to see that everything is to their satisfaction and to assure no glitches in the deal could arise after it is made.
The property purchase will
be in addition to the University’s purchase of the Williams’ Bakery site, located near Franklin Boulevard on the corner of 13th Avenue and Moss Street.
The bakery purchase has not been finalized, but the University
is in the process of concluding
the details of the sales agreement with United States Bakery, the
company that owns the bakery,
according to a January statement
by Allan Price, University vice
president for advancement.

[email protected]