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The university plans to spend some of the proceeds from the 104 acres - more than $173,000 per acre - on new campus laboratories and advanced research into wetlands and range improvements for livestock.
It finalized the deal with Reno Land Inc., which already is building a pair of master-planned communities at a former Reno shopping center (Park Lane Mall) and on ranchland that was owned by casino mogul Bill Harrah.
The city rezoned the land in 2013 to include uses for a business park, commercial or office space.
Chip Bowlby, president and CEO of Reno Land Inc., said the company most likely will build more than a million square feet of industrial, warehouse and retail space. There are no plans to build residential projects at the site at this time, he added.
"It's one of the last large industrial-retail properties in the heart of Reno. We're very happy that we were able to sit down with the university and make this a reality."
Besides being used for raising hundreds of sheep and cattle, the land has been used to study noxious weeds, alternative crops and urban horticulture. It also is home to Wolf Pack Meats, a meat processing plant where students are taught meat sciences.
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