UA Buys Apartments for $5 Million, Acquiring Final Campus Puzzle Piece

The University of Alabama System's Board of Trustees voted Thursday to spend $5 million to buy a 13-story apartment building and fill in the last gap on the northern edge of their Tuscaloosa campus.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health owned the Clara Verner Tower at 101 Old Hackberry Lane, which primarily houses elderly renters.

"This is kind of the last piece to complete the puzzle, so to speak. This parcel totals seven acres and adjoins other UA property on the northern edge of campus," explained UA System Assistant Vice Chancellor Mike Rogers. "This strategic land acquisition will provide campus control of all real estate on Jack Warner Parkway from Highway 82 west to Mars Spring Road. It effectively completes the northern border of campus."

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The Board of Trustees OK'd a $5 million purchase of Clara Verner Tower, funded by housing reserves maintained by the System.

"This is a project that the Board's Legal Committee and Physical Property Committee have been involved with for some period of time, and we're appreciative of those trustees devoting time to that and our staff who've worked on this," said Board President pro tempore Scott Phelps. "It's obviously a piece of property that fits in with everything else we're doing."

The Board also approved a $24.5 million loan to the UA-affiliated 1831 Foundation to purchase the towers' leaseholder rights.

The Thursday buy means the University could someday rethink whether the current apartment tower is the best use for the property, but Dan Layzell, UA's vice president for finance and operations and treasurer, said for now, nothing will change.

"With this purchase, the Clara Verner residents will continue to receive the same high-quality services they have come to expect," Layzell said. "There are no current plans for the property that will impact their day-to-day lives."

For more coverage of news in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.