UD buys NCR's former headquarters

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - The University of Dayton has purchased 115 acres, including NCR Corporation's former world headquarters and Old River Park, for $18 million from the global technology company, University of Dayton President Daniel J. Curran announced December 21, 2009.

The University will move its expanding world-class Research Institute into the building at 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., providing a signature facility for its research arm. UDRI conducts nearly $100 million annually in sponsored research and just received its largest contract in history — $49.5 million to develop advanced jet fuels and combustion technologies for the Air Force.

The 455,000-square-foot, five-story building along the Great Miami River also will provide a prominent home for a proposed Alumni Center envisioned in the University's master plan, as well as for graduate classes, executive development programs and conferences. One of the largest office buildings in the region, the furnished facility includes offices, classrooms, an auditorium, a dining facility and a 1,600-space parking lot.

"This is an exceptional opportunity for the University of Dayton to invest in our future -- and this region's destiny," Curran said. "This striking facility offers a tremendous venue for education, research and National Alumni Association programs. It's a real statement about the forward-thinking nature of the University of Dayton."

University officials say the former Fortune 500 company headquarters also will provide consolidated space and ample parking for graduate classes and an administrative office. This fall, graduate enrollment climbed 11 percent -- a 12-year high for fall semester enrollment. The University enrolls approximately 3,000 graduate students and is projecting future growth.

A portion of the building will be renovated for an Alumni Center -- providing a highly visible venue for alumni events, lifelong learning programs and chapter meetings.

"This will be a new landmark location for the University of Dayton's 100,000 alumni," Curran said. "Alumni value and cherish their alma mater. This center will engage them in powerful ways. We'll be able to tell our story in an outstanding way in this building by having a venue to showcase videotaped oral histories and memorabilia."

The 48-acre Old River Park will continued to be managed by Dayton History through an operating agreement. University officials say a portion could be used as an environmental lab for faculty and students.

NCR will lease its former headquarters through part of 2010. It will continue to own and maintain a data center located near the former headquarters building.

With the new purchase, the University of Dayton's campus now spans 373 acres. In 2005, the University acquired from NCR Corporation a 50-acre parcel of property that extended the core campus from Brown Street to the Great Miami River. Since then, the University of Dayton has purchased an additional five acres from the global technology company.