The Ohio State Board of Trustees will be asked to approve the purchase of a south campus alley that will be used conjointly with a new university dormitory at today’s meeting.

The alley runs east and west on OSU’s campus and is located directly south of the 11th Avenue parking garage.

Ohio State wants to purchase the alley from the city of Columbus so it can be used as a passageway to the new William H. Hall Student Residential Complex, a new OSU student housing project that will be located between 10th and 11th avenues.

Construction for the new complex is slated to start in December, said Ruth Miller, senior project manager for OSU’s Facilities Operations and Development.

“The purchase gives the university exclusive use of this land,” Miller said. “This complements the student housing project by providing space for pedestrian paths and attractive landscaping.”

The university wants the alley to be used for pedestrian and vehicle access to the new dorm. The alley will also be used for deliveries and the loading of furniture, materials and other equipment.

The city agreed to vacate the alley and sell the property to the university on the condition that OSU keeps the utility pipes in the alley. Not only will OSU keep the utilities, they will add more.

If the Board of Trustees approves the purchase, the state Controlling Board and the Columbus City Council will still need to give their approval.

The city of Columbus offered the 25-foot wide, 411-footlong property to OSU for $56,750.

OSU recently had the property appraised to make sure the purchase made sense economically and the appraisal approved the selling price.

The alley is located directly next to many other properties owned by the university, such as the Younkin Success Center and the south campus dorms.

If the Board of Trustees approves the purchase and the sale goes through, OSU will landscape the alley to improve its appearance.

In addition to landscaping, the alley will also be re-paved. Facilities Operations and Development does not know how much the renovations will cost just yet, Miller said.

The entire project cost is being estimated by the Facilities Operations and Development construction manager.