The University of Iowa can expand the UI Hospitals and Clinics surface parking lot to the east.

The state Board of Regents approved the UI’s request to purchase property at 9 Melrose Place in Iowa City for as high as $420,000 at their meeting on Wednesday. 

The land is 6,420 square feet and contains a 1,152-square-foot three-bedroom residential rental unit. It is the last remaining privately-owned property on Melrose Place, according to a document in the regents’ agenda. 

Map by Jami Martin-Trainor/The Daily Iowan

“The University owns the land on both sides of this property and across the street,” the document states. “The university acquired the surrounding parcels in 2011 and 2012, when it was planning the removal of Hospital Ramp Two, immediately north of the new children’s hospital, and the construction of the new children’s hospital tower.”

Besides the parking lot expansion, this purchase will allow the UI to collaborate with the City of Iowa City to vacate the public street that serves the residential property on the land.

The UI has obtained two independent land value assessments, or appraisals, for the plot of land. The two appraisals found the land to be valued at $420,000 and $390,000, the document states.

Previously, the university attempted to purchase 9 Melrose Place but was unsuccessful. The property owner contacted the UI about selling the land, the document states. 

The document also states the UI has commissioned a Phase I Environmental Report of the property and will share those findings with the regents before officially closing the transaction. An environmental report is an assessment of a property that identifies any environmental conditions that could impact a property’s value.

Isabelle Foland contributed to this report.