POCATELLO — Private developers plan to soon build a 177-unit apartment building catering to Idaho State University students on the former site of Bannock Regional Medical Center.

Officials with Portneuf Health Trust confirmed they closed on selling the 4.13-acre property, located at 651 Memorial Drive across from ISU, on Dec. 30, but they declined to specify the sale price.

The buyer, NP Elevate Pocatello LLC, reportedly hopes to have the permits completed in time to start construction of the planned six-story building in April. The investment will be north of $25 million, and the facility should be ready for student occupancy prior to the start of the 2021 school year, said Don Zebe, the commercial real estate broker who facilitated the transaction. He said a ground-breaking ceremony is being planned.

Zebe said the building will house a mix of studio apartments and one- to four-bedroom units.

“People like new and fresh. This will be first class and nothing like what is available today,” Zebe said.

Zebe emphasized the development will be privately owned, so it will be on the tax rolls, and it will provide top-end housing for students within walking distance of classes.

“It’s going to be a great recruiting tool for the university,” Zebe said.

The old county-owned hospital, which became part of Portneuf Medical Center, was vacated in 2011 when the hospital moved to its current location at 777 Hospital Way. It was subsequently demolished.

Officials with the buyer could not be reached for comment.

“Shaun Menchaca and Clark Bitton at Portneuf Health Trust were extremely patient and helpful through the 11-month process to bring this to closure,” Zebe said. “It takes a team to make it all work. We had a great team.”

Zebe also credited Pocatello’s senior planner, Matthew Lewis, with “guiding the developer through the process.”

“He delivered beyond the developer’s expectations,” Zebe said.