[kpozin]

My understanding is that universities in the U.S. often own much of the real estate around their campuses. (This is particularly true at Stanford; even faculty members who want to live nearby end up renting from Stanford or "buying" land leases.)

[Spooky23]

Yup.

University and hospital affiliates are often the biggest slumlords in their area. Having a buffer to make room for future expansion that produces income is a winning strategy.