The state Board of Regents voted unanimously on Thursday to permit University of Iowa officials to buy the Iowa City School District Central Administrative Office Building, 509 S. Dubuque St.
The Iowa City School Board voted last week to accept the UI’s $4.5 million offer. The purchase is part of the UI’s plans to expand the School of Music downtown.
University officials said they plan to use the school district site to relocate businesses that will be displaced by the expansion. Two banks sit on the corner of Burlington and Clinton streets, where the UI is negotiating for land to build. The banks — MidWestOne Bank and Bank of the West — have a combined square footage of 52,150; the district property is 56,790 square feet.
The regents, during their meeting in Ames on Thursday, also gave the UI permission to demolish the flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium, School of Music, and Art Building.
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