Dark and silent buildings around Ohio University’s campus remain locked and empty but continue to cost the school thousands of dollars.
OU currently lists ten university-owned buildings as vacant, some with planned renovations in their futures and others continue to remain untouched.
According to university documents, vacant buildings cost over the university $172,565.52 in the past five years with 1,985 work orders.
Most notable is old Baker University Center, which has been vacant since new Baker was occupied in 2006.
“There had been ongoing plans to renovate that building, and that project took a while to amass the necessary funding,” said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities.
Old Baker, built in 1953 and future home of the Schoonover Center for Communication, halted renovations on the new center because of financial problems. However, the project is now moving forward because of a debt financing solution approved by the Board of Trustees to fund the $24.5 million required for renovations, Wyatt said.
“Contracts have been awarded and one will see active construction going on over the next 14 months,” he said.
Other vacant buildings scheduled for renovations in the coming years include Tupper Hall, located on University Terrace across from College Green, which used to house the offices of Undergraduate Distance Learning and Summer Sessions and is estimated to cost between $5-10 million for renovations.
Tupper Hall would be used as a swing space for other offices on campus while their buildings are being renovated.
“In order to implement many of the plans in the six year capital plan, buildings have to be vacated or partially vacated so we can work without disrupting current operations,” Wyatt said.
The Old Beacon School, located at the Ridges, is the only building being considered for demolition by the university and has about $250,000 allocated for its removal from state appropriations, Wyatt said.
“We will be exploring that this summer,” he said. “We want to do an active photographic documentary for the sake of preservation. There is a lot of vandalism there, so it’s also a safety issue for the university.”
Vandalism and other maintenance issues are taken care of by the university.
“We typically monitor buildings, provide minimal heating to avoid frozen pipes,” Wyatt said. “We respond to vandalism or things like broken windows that need to be boarded up. The service is meant to be very minimal.”
OU Police Chief Andrew Powers acknowledged that some buildings are a greater vandalism risk, but not all of it is reported to police.
“Certainly vacant buildings are at greater risk of vandalism, especially those in more remote areas, such as the Ridges,” Powers said.
Some of OU’s vacant buildings will remain empty if there is no reason to renovate them, said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis.
“It becomes about the need, and if that facility will meet any of those particular needs,” she said.
jf392708@ohiou.edu
