The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees has approved the $5.2 million sale of the former UConn campus in West Hartford to a digital financial technology company, Seven Stars Cloud Group.
The Hartford Courant reports that the company, led by Bruno Wu, a Chinese billionaire, plans to move its global headquarters for technology and innovation to the campus.
The university says the 58-acre campus in West Hartford became available after it moved its area campus to downtown Hartford in 2017. The property includes three large buildings and two smaller structures.
At a trustees meeting, UConn’s Chief Financial Officer Scott Jordan said the deal will benefit the university.
“Given that UConn has no use for this property, we will be avoiding $500,000 [annually] in maintenance costs and receiving $5.2 million,” Jordan said.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said earlier this week that the now-empty college campus would become a “thriving center for research, training and business development.”
Wu said his company plans to develop the former campus into a $283 million tech hub for blockchain technology and artificial intelligence.
“We are going to be creating a lot of jobs and at the same time making a lot of investments,” Wu said.
