02-03-95 OSU Continue to Assess Future of Firestone Property

OHIO STATE CONTINUES TO ASSESS FUTURE OF FIRESTONE PROPERTY

     COLUMBUS -- Ohio State University officials will gather
information over the next several months that will enable them to
make a decision by the end of 1995 on the future use of 1,500
acres of land in Bath Township, near Akron.  The university
closed on the purchase of the land, known as Lauray Farms, on
Jan. 10 in fulfillment of a 1987 charitable gift agreement with
the late Raymond Firestone.

     David Brennan, an Akron businessman and an Ohio State
trustee, is chairing a group of university trustees and prominent
northern Ohio citizens investigating how the university can best
utilize the property.

     "We must balance our responsibility to see that the
university gets an appropriate return on its investment with our
desire to preserve the rural nature of this area," Brennan said.
"Before we can make any kind of decision, we need to gather more
information.  In the next months we will conduct surveys,
appraisals and environmental studies.  Those have to be completed
before we can begin to talk about the options for sale,
development or other use of the land."

     Brennan said the university is taking into consideration the
opinions of various individuals and groups who have expressed
interest in the disposition of the land.  He and other university
officials have met several times with local goverment and
citizens groups.

     "We will continue to seek input from many sources," Brennan
said.  "Our goal is put together a plan that Mr. Firestone would
have approved of -- one that both supports Ohio State and is
harmonious with the surrounding area."

     In the meantime, the university has hired Spalding
Associates of Akron to maintain the property and manage the
rental of several homes located on it.  The firm has secured the
services of five long-time Firestone employees to handle
maintenance.

     "While the property is in the hands of the university, we
intend to see that it is kept in good condition -- both because
we want to be good neighbors and because it makes sense from an
investment standpoint," said Robert Haverkamp, head of the
university's real estate operations.

     Raymond Firestone, the retired chairman and chief executive
officer of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., entered into an
agreement with Ohio State in 1987 that would enable him to make a
significant gift to the university while retaining some of his
estate for his heirs.  Ohio State agreed to buy Lauray Farms for
$5 million upon his death.  The difference between what the
university paid for the property and what it could sell it for is
the gift amount.  This sum is to be placed in the university's
endowment where it can, in Firestone's words, "assist this fine
institution in its ongoing efforts to educate our state's young
people."

                                #

Contact: Robert Haverkamp, Office of Business and Administration,
(614) 292-7970.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 03 Feb 1995 16:41:45 -0500 (EST)]
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