Board of Regents approves administrative building purchase near UNLV

The Nevada System of Higher Education is getting a new Las Vegas home.

The system’s governing Board of Regents Thursday unanimously approved buying a now-empty building to house the system’s Southern Nevada administrative offices.

“I think it’s a critical step forward for the system to have a permanent home here in Las Vegas,” said Dan Klaich, the system’s chancellor. “There are a lot of win-wins in this situation.”

The roughly $3.4 million, 15,500-square-foot building is at the corner of Maryland Parkway and Rochelle Avenue, across the street from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. UNLV is lending the system money for the purchase.

The system will make payments of less than $16,500 a month on the new building, compared with the more than $19,000 a month it now pays to rent space on West Flamingo Road. The rented space is inconvenient in part because staffers who work together are housed in separate suites, according to information provided to the board.

Klaich said the new building is a good choice because it gives the system — responsible for overseeing state-supported higher education in Nevada — “proximity to a campus, which is critical, in my way of thinking, because we’re here to serve the students, to serve the campuses and to serve the administration.”

The seller has agreed to refurbish the property, including replacing the roof, as part of the agreement.