The city of Rosemount, Minn. bought a tiny parcel of the University of MinnesotaâÄôs UMore Park land for the hefty price of $1.

The UniversityâÄôs Board of Regents unanimously approved the 28-acre transaction Thursday.

The land will be used for baseball and softball fields as part of RosemountâÄôs parks system.

“ItâÄôs a huge step forward for us, for our park system and for our relationship with the University of Minnesota,” Rosemount Parks and Recreation Director Dan Schultz said.

When building a development like the one planned for UMore Park âÄî a 5,000 acre plot owned by the University âÄî planners are required by a Rosemount city ordinance to dedicate 10 percent of the land as green space or pay the city.

The 27.5 acres involved in this deal will be part of that 10 percent. The University sold the land to the city for $1, the same price it paid for the entire park in 1947.

Charles Muscoplat, president of the UMore Development, said developers usually wait to fulfill this requirement until their project is finished, but the city needed the property, and the University decided to accommodate that need.

“WeâÄôll be obligated to make a park land dedication, so everyone could win here,” Muscoplat said. “We are trying to work with everybody to meet everybodyâÄôs needs, and it just happens to be a year or two ahead of when we would normally do it.”

The Board of Regents Facilities Committee raised no questions before voting at ThursdayâÄôs meeting. The committee also heard this proposal late last year, and it was met with little discussion.

In previous land transactions, the regents have objected to selling parts of UMore Park because of the possible loss of profit. But because the land would need to be given away anyway, there wasnâÄôt an issue.

“I think because of the fact that we would have to provide green space anyway itâÄôs more or less seen as part of the ongoing development,” said Regent Steven Hunter, chairman of the committee tasked with approving real estate sales.

On Tuesday, the city will sign a contract with a consultant group for development plans of the park area. The city is hoping to break ground on the sports complex in 2011.

The facility will also be used by neighboring Dakota County Technical College.