KEARNEY, Neb. — The University of Nebraska Foundation is planning to sell the UNK Alumni House as part of its transition to using space at the new Regional Engagement Center.

A news release says the foundation’s advancement team for UNK, which includes foundation and alumni association staff, will relocate later this month to the Regional Engagement Center. The advancement team currently uses office space off campus and uses the the Alumni House as a gathering place for alumni and community groups. The new facility will work for both offices and gathering spaces.

“The Alumni House has played an important role in UNK’s history and its evolution and success over the years,” vice president of UNK alumni relations and development for the University of Nebraska Foundation Lucas Dart said in a statement. “Even so, our needs and opportunities are different today than when I began advancement work 22 years ago. Our new space in the Regional Engagement Center is ideally suited to meet our needs today and into the future.”

The Alumni House is a couple blocks south of campus and was purchased by the foundation in 1992. It was built in 1906 and served as a residence for A.O. Thomas, the founding president of the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney (now UNK). The news release says officials expect the foundation’s board of directors will transfer the proceeds from the house’s sale to UNK.

“I’m excited for this next chapter,” UNK Chancellor Douglas Kristensen said. “The Regional Engagement Center will be a centerpiece and anchor for University Village that will attract talented students and faculty to UNK, bring new businesses to the city and benefit employers across the state. We’re thrilled to have the University of Nebraska Foundation and the UNK Alumni Association as the Regional Engagement Center’s first occupants.”

The new Regional Engagement Center is part of University Village, a 104-acre development that combines educational, residential, commercial and recreational opportunities within a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. It will also house private businesses like Allo Fiber, Chief Industries, Olsson and more.