The University of Connecticut Foundation has announced that it will sell the Barney House, a house built in 1832 and located on 4.5 acres on Mountain Spring Road in Farmington.

The University has operated the mansion as both an educational conference center for the University and the corporate community and a bed and breakfast since 1974, when it was donated to the University by the Barney family.

Proceeds from the sale of the house will be used to meet some of the University's priority needs, including an endowment that will support scholarships and university programs.

"The decision to sell the house was difficult," said Edward T. Allenby, vice president for institutional advancement and president of the University of Connecticut Foundation. "Despite our best efforts, the Barney House has been operating at a deficit for the past several years. Executives of both the University and the Foundation examined every possible means for keeping the Barney House. However, even professional management companies were unable to suggest a plan of action that would ensure that the house operations would break even," he said.

It is expected that the proceeds from the sale of the house, coupled with other funds held by the UConn Foundation which support Barney House, could result in nearly $2 million in income-gener ating assets, including at least $500,000 earmarked specifically for endowed scholarships.

The house will be marketed as a private residence. In the interim, the Foundation intends to honor commitments for events planned at the House through the reminder of the calendar year.

The Barney family has a long history of support for the University. Katherine Barney, who donated the home to UConn, was the granddaughter of Austin Cornelius Dunham, who donated a farm to the University.

Proceeds from the sale of the farm were used to build the swimming pool in Hawley Armory and to purchase the carillon at the Storrs Congregational Church.

Karen A. Grava