By Tanya Perez

A recent story in the Sacramento Business Journal about the sale of UC Davis-owned land inspired some questions — namely, how does UCD ever have surplus land?

The April 4 story noted that “Brooklyn, New York-based indoor farming company Gotham Greens Holdings LLC has bought 33.6 acres of (agricultural) land just west” of the campus. The sale price, which went to the highest bidder, was $954,000, or approximately $28,400 per acre.

The Sacramento Business Journal said the land had been donated to UCD “decades ago.”

The property, at 9113 Olmo Lane in Dixon, is described by Realtor.com as “Nearly 34 acres of prime irrigated row crop land with a two acre mature homestead, enclosed by chain-link fencing. … Within the fenced-in yard is an old boarded-up dwelling (circa 1920), an old storage shed and an occupied office building.”

It is zoned A40, which means it is suitable for rural residential, with an existing agricultural well and ample irrigation water.

The Enterprise talked with UCD’s Grant Rockwell, the executive director of real estate services to understand how and why land such as this would be sold.

In a nutshell, this land had been gifted to UCD, with any proceeds from the rental or sale of it allocated to benefit Intercollegiate Athletics, or ICA.

“When properties like that are gifted to the university,” Rockwell said, “there are key beneficiaries.” In this particular case, “Rental or sale income is funneled to ICA.”

He continued, “(This property) didn’t generate a lot of rental income,” because the house was uninhabitable and the leased farmland and office building were not bringing in much revenue. “Selling it was more lucrative, and the endowment goes back to ICA.”

Rockwell noted that the money was “earmarked for specific scholarships for ICA — off the top of my head, for men’s football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball.”

While Rockwell’s office is involved in this type of transaction, he said that the UC Office of the President “technically runs the process.”

In the case of the Olmo Lane property, sealed bids were opened on Jan. 15, and Gotham Greens was the highest bidder.

Rockwell explained that “If we think the property could sell for over $1 million, it goes through a sealed bid process.” When the university has properties such as single family residences that are expected to sell for less than $1 million, “They don’t go through a bid, and it’s a more traditional” sale process.

Gotham Greens might seem like an unusual choice to buy prime ag land. The company touts itself as growing “pesticide-free produce … using ecologically sustainable methods in technologically sophisticated, 100% clean energy powered, climate-controlled urban rooftop greenhouses.” As well, it says they are “farmers that live in apartments. We see green fields where others see rooftops.”

Rockwell said he believes that “Gotham Greens is trying to make inroads in to this market.”

As for UCD’s real estate services office, it handles “a full spectrum of real estate activities,” Rockwell said, which ranges from acquiring land and buildings to property management and off-campus tenant improvement coordination.

His goal for his team is “Effective asset management, (with consideration) of what the campus needs.”

Rockwell added, “When donors gift property to the university, they are often very specific with regard to the recipients. … With the current real estate market, there are opportunities to provide proceeds to the (beneficiaries).”

— Reach Tanya Perez at tperez@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8082. Follow her on Twitter at @EnterpriseTanya