Nine flat screen TVs and a pool table are among the items the university purchased to furnish the McDavises' new residence in March.
The Ohio University Foundation purchased not one, not two, but nine flat-screen televisions for the McDavis house at 31 Coventry Lane, university documents show.
A Wii console, a vendor popcorn machine and a pool table are among the items the OU Foundation purchased to furnish the home in March. The foundation, which serves as the fundraising arm of the university, agreed to purchase all the furnishings for the home, which totaled $75,000.
The OU Foundation entered into a $1.2 million lease-purchase agreement March 19 for a new home for President McDavis and his wife Deborah at 31 Coventry Lane. The McDavises previously stayed at the Ohio University Inn because of a bat infestation in their 29 Park Place home that caused Deborah McDavis to fall and break her foot.
31 Coventry Lane is owned by Athens realtor John Wharton, who verbally agreed with OU Director of Athletics Jim Schaus that, as part of the lease-purchase agreement, Wharton would finance the remaining money he pledged to the Walter Fieldhouse and donate an additional $100,000.
As a result, on April 13 Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding said he wouldn’t ask OU’s Board of Trustees or the OU Foundation to buy the property because Wharton’s agreement caused a “problematic” situation for the university.
The information about Wharton’s agreement was not shared with those assigned to find a new home for McDavis before the university signed the lease-to-buy contract, Golding said.
The McDavises continue to live at 31 Coventry Lane, and as of now it is unclear whether the university will purchase the property.
The Post received a copy of an inventory list of the furnishings the university purchased for 31 Coventry Lane and the appraised costs. Some of the more expensive items the OU Foundation bought include:
For the basement: a pool table and accessories for $2,500; a metal Baker’s Rack for $1,500; a vendor model popcorn maker for $1,000; three flat-screen TVs ranging in price from $500-$900; two large brown leather sofas for $3,000; two brown leather club chairs for $1,600; and a sound system/Wii console/DVD player.
For the sun room: a large beige linen sofa with three pillows for $1,100; a wood entertainment cabinet for $900; and a flat-screen TV for $400.
For the formal dining room: a large crystal chandelier for $450, six upholstered dining chairs for $1,200; and a mahogany wood hutch for $1,500.
For the sunken formal living room: a beige loveseat for $1,000; and a three-tiered chest of drawers for $1,700.
For the patio room: a large white cabinet/hutch for $2,500.
For the kitchen: a flat-screen TV for $150.
For the laundry room: one whirlpool front load washer for $1,200; and one whirlpool front load dryer for $1,200.
For the family room: a large linen sofa for $1,500, a large grandfather clock for $1,000; and a large flat-screen TV for $1,000.
For the master bedroom: a flat-screen TV for $800.
For the three guest rooms: two flat-screen TVs; one queen bed with a mahogany headboard priced at $1,800; and a queen bed for $1,500.
The foundation will be reimbursed by OU for the furniture purchases.
“The foundation purchased the furnishings listed in the inventory in order to lease the house in move-in ready condition,” OU spokeswoman Bethany Venable said in an email.
Venable said having the house furnished upon the McDavises’ move into 31 Coventry Lane allowed the university to fulfill its “obligation to provide adequate housing for the president.”
The McDavises’ personal belongings were transported from 29 Park Place to the new home, Venable said, while university-owned furniture and appliances remained at 29 Park Place.
31 Coventry Lane is a 2.86-acre home and occupies 4,586 square feet. The south Athens home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a finished basement and a pool in the backyard. The monthly rent is $4,318, according to a previous Post report.
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