Board OKs Westmoreland sale.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

PORTLAND - The University of Oregon can complete the sale of its Westmoreland student housing complex after near-unanimous approval of the $18.5 million deal Friday by the state Board of Higher Education.

Only one person on the 12-member board, Western Oregon University student Gerry Blakney, voted against the sale. The purchase by Eugene real estate broker Michael O'Connell is expected to close Aug. 31.

Student residents will not have to move out; O'Connell has said he will continue to market the complex to students and plans to keep rents below market level. He also plans to put $1 million into improving the property.

The vote came after UO President Dave Frohnmayer told the board the university will increase the compensation it will pay to current and former Westmoreland residents. Students who left after the plan to sell the 404-unit complex was announced in October or who leave before the deal closes will receive $300 to help cover moving expenses, up from the $150 previously offered.

That's on top of the two-year rent freeze for students who stay at Westmoreland under the new owner, waiver of application fees to move back into the complex and assistance with child care costs for former Westmoreland residents.

Frohnmayer said he decided to boost the compensation after hearing students speak of the difficulties they face moving to different housing. He pledged additional help if necessary.

"It's still a work in progress," he said. "If we need to make further adjustments, we will."

The vote turned back the efforts of students, faculty and community members who have fought the sale since its announcement. It generated more interest than any issue to come before the board in recent memory, with opponents appearing at five board meetings around the state and three public hearings in Eugene.

Virtually all of that testimony was negative. Opponents said the sale would eliminate half the family housing available at the university; eliminate a supportive community that attracts student families, international students and nontraditional students; and eliminate a large block of affordable housing that could make college too expensive for some students.

But board members who had questioned Frohnmayer about the sale after the final round of testimony Thursday seemed comfortable with the additional aid and Frohn- mayer's justifications for the move.

"It does address a lot of the concerns I heard in the earlier testimony," said board member Tim Nesbitt. "I think it's a fair way to go."

The board did set one condition, instructing the university to prepare by early next year a comprehensive student housing plan. It will address not only the improvements to be financed by the sale but how the university will meet the needs of all students, including nontraditional and those with children, in future years.

Board member Don Blair said the vote shouldn't be seen as lack of support for diversity or affordability.

"Access and affordability and diversity in the student body are very important goals for us," he said. "We are not in any way stepping back from that."

Opponents have said they will mount a legal challenge to the sale, arguing that the university didn't follow state rules and that it violates land-use laws. Oregon University System attorney Ben Rawlins said he does not see any legal obstacles, and Frohnmayer agreed.

"You can never stop anybody from trying to go to court, but it would just be obstructionary at this point," he said.

Frohnmayer has said the sale is necessary to generate money needed to improve and add housing closer to campus, including renovation of the aging residence halls. It also will allow the university to purchase properties in the east campus area he says are essential to the UO's future.

After paying costs and putting $500,000 into the compensation plan, the university expects to net about $17.5 million. It will use $10 million to pay off its share of an OUS housing debt that provided almost no benefit to the UO and $5 million to complete the purchase of the former Romania car lot. The remainder could be used to purchase a state highway department parcel next to the Romania land.

By eliminating debt, the UO will free up $1.5 million a year that can be used to take out $20 million in bonds for housing, without having to increase student rent to pay for it.

"The sale of Westmoreland gives the university the means to improve the quality of the university's housing for future students while also maintaining sufficient housing stock to meet demand by current students," said Frances Dyke, the UO's vice president for finance and administration.