MORENO VALLEY - UC Riverside plans to sell off its 685-acre agricultural field station in Moreno Valley -- a decision that could raise more than $30 million for the university.

The university has used the land for agricultural experiments since the 1960s, but researchers have been making less use of it in recent years, Assistant Vice Chancellor Kathleen Peach said by phone.

In addition, campus officials believe the real estate market is ripe for making a profit by selling the property, which is near the Riverside County Regional Medical Center, she said.

"They expect the minimum bid will be between $30 million and $32 million," Peach said.

Proceeds from the sale could be used to build a new facility for the university's Genomics Institute, she said.

While the University of California board of regents is scheduled to vote today on a fee increase to offset proposed budget cuts, Peach said the state budget crisis was not a factor in the decision to sell the land. University officials have been preparing to sell the property long before the current crisis, she said.

The field station east of Lasselle Street and south of Alessandro Boulevard lies within an area designated for future development, including a master-planned, golf-course community with up to 2,400 homes, city planning official John Terrell said in a phone interview.

It also would include new elementary schools, multifamily housing and some commercial development, he said.

UCR created the development plans with city approval after university officials conducted a market study on viable uses for the land, Terrell said.

"It's not near any major streets. Residential is really the only viable use for that site with support commercial (development)," he said.

If a prospective buyer wanted to develop the land differently, they would have to get city approval, Terrell said.

UCR had previously sold off about 80 acres of its land for the county hospital and 40 acres for Vista Del Lago High School, he said.

The university plans to send out public notices and bid packets next week, with the bids expected to be opened in October, Peach said.

The sale would go to the University of California board of regents in November for approval, with the goal of closing any deal in December or January, she said.