GUILDERLAND — The University at Albany Foundation has purchased a historic piece of land in McKownville and residents of the neighborhood are concerned about its possible development.

Richard P. McGinn Jr., chief financial officer of the foundation, said this week there are currently no plans to develop the property.

The land, 8.7 acres at 100 and 200 Nicholas Lane and 18 Waverly Place, was formerly known as the Holt-Harris property, after the family that had owned it.

The University at Albany showed interest in purchasing it in 2011, but the asking price was $1.6 million, and the assessed valuation was $597,000.

McGinn said this week that, early last week, the University at Albany Foundation purchased the property for $600,000 — $3,000 more than the assessed valuation, which hasn’t changed since 2011, and $1 million less than the original asking price.

Four years ago, Karl Luntta a spokesman for the university, told The Enterprise the institution would purchase the land for a “more fair price.”

It would give the university more flexibility with its master plan, he said, referencing a multi-year plan to consider expansion and growth in academics, mission, and physical size.

Donald Reeb, president of the McKownville Improvement Association, said then that, if the university developed the parcel, it would be revoking a promise made to the community nearly 20 years ago.

He said that, in 1963, the late Colonel Walter Tisdale, then the assistant president of the university, promised the McKownville Improvement Association that the university would never take over any residential land in the area.

Brother and sister John-Holt Harris III and Susan Holt-Harris were the owners of the property, which was once part of the Christian LeGrange Farm. The LaGrange family members were some of the earliest inhabitants along the Normanskill.

In 2011, Ms. Holt-Harris said the land was for sale because her father had owned it and had died a decade ago. The family had no use for the property, she said.

 “We were approached by the seller,” he said. “We were not actively seeking the buy the land.”

Neither of the Holt-Harrises could be reached for comment this week.

McGinn also said there was an important distinction between the University at Albany and the University at Albany Foundation. The university itself did not buy the land, he said; the foundation did.

The University at Albany Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to accept contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other organizations to support activities and programs of the university.

“We’re an independent entity,” said McGinn.

There are still, he said, no immediate plans to develop the property, but, since the sellers were actively trying to get rid of it, the foundation wanted to make sure no one else purchased it.

“We wanted to make sure we had input on what happened there,” he said. “”We did not want to not have control, if that makes sense.”

The foundation distributed letters to residents neighboring the property to let them know there may be activity there in the coming weeks to address “health and safety concerns.”

There are empty concrete pits that need to be filled in, an old barn that needs to be removed, and two abandoned houses that need to be secured, he said.

Reeb said the university was “pushing its luck” by purchasing the property.

“It was kind of sneaky the way they did it,” he said. “As far as I know they reached out to no one in the community.”

He cited concerns such as excessive noise, lights, traffic, and extra stormwater runoff, should the land be developed, which, McGinn reiterated, was not planned.

“That raises some questions as to why you’d purchase land you have no plans for,” said Reeb.