Baylor University Regents have approved the purchase of three buildings in downtown Waco for $9 million to further the school’s efforts to reach Tier 1/Research 1 status and bolster the school’s relationship with the community, university President Dr. Linda Livingstone announced in a letter to faculty Monday.

The university purchased a 10-story, 64,779-square foot building and adjacent four-level parking garage at 801 Washington Ave.; the three-story, 44,813-square-foot building at 811 Washington Ave. that houses the Garland School of Social Work and the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, including a parking lot with 55 spaces; and a one-story, 9,713-square foot building at 821 Washington Ave., that now serves as the location of the DPT program in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences.

“Baylor was not seeking to buy these properties. Based on existing lease agreements with the property owners, however, the University had the right of first refusal to purchase the properties should the owners decide to sell,” Livingstone said.

“The purchase price of $9 million will not result in any additional monthly financial commitment from the University budget. In other words, instead of making monthly lease payments to the current property owners, we will be investing in a property that Baylor will own long-term essentially for no additional cost.”

—KWTX