The Ohio University Board of Trustees passed two capital improvement resolutions — regarding plans to renovate university housing and handling deferred maintenance projects — at its full board meeting Friday.
The board approved further spending on the already sizable deferred maintenance bill and gave the university permission to hire outside design help for residence hall reconstruction after hearing presentations on both topics at Thursday’s resources committee meeting.
One resolution authorizes OU to enter into design contracts for phases one and two of its housing development plan.
Residential Housing will need $205 million for the first two phases of the 10-year housing plan — with $145 million of that amount coming from debt issuance, according to the board’s agenda.
A designer is estimated to cost less than $5 million, said Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Harry Wyatt, adding that hiring outside architectural help is common practice, even for “small” projects.
There still is too much planning to be done on the first two phases to even begin to think about further phases of the housing development plan, said OU President Roderick McDavis.
“What we saw today is the board is asking for us next to bring forward a plan,” McDavis said. “It was simply an authorization. We’ve not moved beyond that point.”
The other resolution approves several deferred maintenance construction projects and authorizes the development of construction documents, the receiving of bids and awarding construction contracts on those plans.
The approved projects, which will cost about $21.3 million total, include the compost facility expansion, Nelson Dining Hall renovation, Bromley Hall renovations, West Green landscape and infrastructure renovations, Sargent Hall casework refurbishment, Voigt Hall electrical upgrade and a Gamertsfelder Hall fire alarm replacement.
The total cost of OU’s current deferred maintenance projects is $480 million, split between $340 million for general fund buildings such as classrooms and $140 million for auxiliary buildings such as residence and dining halls.
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