The Board of Trustees will no longer discuss the next steps in the demolition of the President Street Academic Center.
Ohio University’s Board of Trustees, its governing body, wouldn’t talk about demolishing the vacant President Street Academic Center at its meeting on Thursday, OU officials said.
The discussion was delayed because of “unforeseen site conditions that have negatively impacted the project budget,” OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said in an email.
Quaranta declined to further comment on what that statement means.
Board members were originally planning to vote on the demolition of the building, located across from Bentley Hall and next to Copeland Hall, at the meeting.
The project will be readdressed at a later meeting, though the date of which is undetermined, Quaranta said.
“This will give us time to better understand how we can address these issues prior to asking the board to vote on the project,” Quaranta said.
The Athens Historic Preservation Commission has protested the demolition because of its “historic value,” according to a previous Post report.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="0d724938-c5ee-11e4-bba4-6f7972f9bc5d"}}
Quaranta said she does not know whether the Board has seen a letter from the Athens Historic Preservation Commission asking to reconsider the demolition.
The building was constructed in 1911 and previously housed the Innovation Center, among other offices over the years, according to OU archives.
The university originally intended to replace the center with a larger and more flexible building, according to the board’s agenda.
It is also “envisioned as the optimal site for the business expansion,” according to the agenda.
@kcoward02
kc769413@ohio.edu
