In a change from previous policy, Iowa State has long-term plans to sell property it no longer uses.

This change poses difficulty for city planners, as the university-owned land is not included in the city’s land use plans.

“What we’re finding out is that as budgets get tighter, [university] land is more disposable,” said Eric Jensen, a city planner.

This situation occurred earlier this year, when Hunziker Property Management unexpectedly purchased university-owned land in an ISU Foundation auction.

“We didn’t have a contingency plan for that sale; we had to fall back on previous uses in the area,” Pietruszynski said.

After development, the 52 acres of land Hunziker bought is expected to be worth $60 million to $70 million, said Chuck Winkleblack, vice president of Hunziker & Associates and manager of Hunziker Land Management. This property is located west of the Dairy Teaching Farm at 2602 Mortensen Rd.

Winkleblack said Hunziker bought the property for $2.4 million.

City planners said when the university sells land, the zoning changes from university use to farm use. The developer then needs to go through the public process of working with city planners, the City Council and neighborhood groups to change zoning to fit their plans. Planners then assess appropriate uses for the land.

Hunziker bought the university land in January, and the property’s zoning changed six weeks ago.

City planner Joe Pietruszynski said the Hunziker land sale came as a surprise.

City planners said Hunziker initially wanted the entire sub-division to be zoned high density.

Two-thirds of the land is zoned for high density use, and the rest is for medium density usage.

Medium density means there can be no more than 12 units in an apartment complex. Winkleblack said Hunziker is planning to have two- and three-story apartments, and “very competitively priced” townhouses carefully placed in the subdivision.

The city of Ames is building a new junior high school right across the street, also on land purchased from the university.

“The junior high school played a small part in our decision to purchase the land,” Winkleblack said. “We were more concerned with access to the interstate and Mortensen Road.”

The development is expected to attract undergraduate students, graduate students and young families.

“We’re hoping it serves a lot of different needs,” Winkleblack said.

According to Daily reports, the land bought by Hunziker was assessed as agricultural.

Developers call planners before a land sale to find out what the land could be used for and decide what it is worth.

Agricultural land is worth considerably less per acre than residential land.

“Some might take our suggestions as policy, but they are only suggestions. We have no problem with the university using the land for whatever they want to use it for,” said City Planner Jeff Benson.