Email records indicate it could cost OU $15 million to $20 million to demolish and rebuild, in comparison to $8 million to $10 million to renovate.
Ohio University’s Board of Trustees will vote on the possible destruction of the President Street Academic Center at the governing body’s Friday meeting.
The board was originally set to decide on the potential destruction of the building, which sits empty, at its March 13 meeting, but the decision was pushed back because the cost of demolition was too high, according to a previous Post report.
Asbestos and other problems caused demolition costs for the building, which is located at the corner of President Street and South Congress Street, to rise more than initially expected.
“We first took the context for design approval of the board approval in January of 2014 and received approval to proceed with the design of the demolition,” Joseph Lalley, the senior associate vice president for information technologies and administrative services, said. “Then, we ran into unforeseen problems on the site related to utilities and hazardous materials. So, we have resolved those, and now we are prepared to bring (the) concept back to the board for approval at the meeting.”
The board is looking to approve an increase in total project budget cost, paid for by an internal loan, from $1 million to $1.5 million.
The change in budget is set to account for the removal of hazardous materials, the increase in cost for 2016 as opposed to the initial plans and protection of nearby university and private properties.
Members of Athens City Council approved a resolution at their meeting Tuesday asking the Board of Trustees to postpone its vote on the demolition of the academic center, according to a previous Post report. The resolution came after the Athens Historical Society expressed concerns about the possible demolition.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson expressed concerns over the building's demolition at the meeting, and personally wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees suggesting the vote be postponed.
Cost of demolishing and rebuilding versus renovating
Email records The Post obtained from the university mention that demolishing and rebuilding could cost anywhere from $15 million to $20 million, while renovating could cost $8 million to $10 million, though it is not stated where those numbers came from.
The options are outlined by College of Business Dean Hugh Sherman in an email record that suggests finding the money to pay for the demolition and rebuild could be difficult and that the renovation of the current facility could be completed more quickly.
OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said the university had no further comment on the cost of renovating versus demolishing and rebuilding.
The discovery of hazardous materials like asbestos upped the cost of the building, and John Day, an associate provost for Academic Budget and Planning, said the increased price could make finding donors more difficult.
“We did our planning on PSAC (President Street Academic Center) starting with the assumption that PSAC was beyond saving which could still be the case,” Day said in an email from June 22. “Although since the price of a demolition increased, it is becoming more difficult to come up with the funds since donors would not fund a demo, and we would be using our own fund balance.”
Originally, in an email from July 9, 2014, Sherman said he had $2.5 million lined up in verbal donations. As of Aug. 31, 2014, the College of Business agreed to pay, over time, for the demolition of the building.
According to the records, university officials have been interested in possibly demolishing the building since at least 2013. The records indicate that demolishing would be the top option in order to create a new space for the College of Business.
How a new space would be used
The new space would likely be used for the college's training programs, large group programs, meetings, events and an on-campus location for its online MBA graduate program.
“The new facility would be designed to house our executive education offerings,” Sherman said in an email. “A major initiative of the college is to expand our offerings of executive education.”
The Center for Strategic Leadership, Sales Center and Center for Entrepreneurship are some of the departments that need more space, according to the Board of Trustees agenda.
The university has paid $15,000 per year, about $180,000 total, to heat the building although it has been out of use since 2003.
If approved, construction would be slated to start May 2 with an expected completion date of Aug. 12, according to the agenda. OU will begin searching for a construction agent less than two weeks after the meeting if construction is approved.
Background and past discussions
The Athens Historic Preservation Committee has contested the potential destruction of the building, citing its historic value to Athens, according to a previous Post report.
That, however, did not affect the board’s decision to delay talks.
The academic center was built in 1911, renovated in 1947 and formerly housed the Innovation Center, which is currently located on West State Street, in addition to other offices.
The university plans to work with Sherman, a consultant and a historic architect to come up with a design for the building, according to a previous Post report.
“The plan is to architecturally design a building that is consistent with Copeland Hall and the (Computer Services Center) annex,” Sherman said in an email. “Our desire is that the three buildings have a similar look from the outside and are linked with enclosed bridge on the third floor.”
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