University President John Delaney said John Rood, owner of The Flats at Kernan and longtime friend of his, is cautiously looking into selling The Flats to UNF.

Delaney said, “The price has got to be right; he’s not interested in selling too low, and we’re not interested in paying too much.”

Delaney said he has a feeling they will be able to agree upon a price. He said he is not sure exactly how much The Flats would cost but it would be in the tens of millions. UNF would borrow the money and use the rent revenue from the dorms to pay off the cost, he said.

“Ultimately, You’d love to get six or seven thousand students living on campus,” Delaney said. “That kind of creates the feel of a city. It gives you the energy.”

He said 20 percent of UNF’s students live on campus now, but he’d like to see that number increase. The Flats can house about 450 people.

Delaney said rent would stay the same if UNF purchases The Flats but would fluctuate with market prices. He said The Flats would be marketed as an independent complex but remain part of housing. The Flats would not have its own shuttle; the current route would just be extended, Delaney said.

He said Rood and his company, Vestcor, have been donors to the university for three or four years. Rood has also served on the Florida Board of Governors, Delaney said. He resigned recently because he was bidding to build dormitories down at Florida Polytechnic University, Delaney said.

“I actually told him some years ago that… when you build apartment complexes like that you do tend to flip them after five or ten years, sell it to somebody else, take your profits and then invest it in something else,” Delaney said.

Delaney said an appraiser will decide what the prices are. He said he does not know when the negotiations will be finished.

Email Blake Middleton at reporter32@unfspinnaker.com