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Renovations to the House Undergraduate Library have been put on hold
because of the state's Hurricane Floyd relief efforts.
The project had been scheduled to begin toward the end of the Fall 1999
semester. But after Floyd struck eastern North Carolina last September the
state froze all capital projects not under contract as a way to free up funds
for Floyd relief. That group included the House renovations, a project slated
to get more than $9 million from Raleigh.
A new start date will depend on when the state legislature reappropriates
funding. Once that happens, House will rank among Carolina's top-priority
projects because of its importance to undergraduate education, said Jack Evans,
interim vice chancellor for finance and administration.
"That one is absolutely a key," he said at the Jan. 5 Employee Forum
Community Meeting.
According to Joe Hewitt, associate provost for University libraries,
delaying the House project will not affect its scope.
"This has not affected the plans for the building -- it's the timeline
that's been affected," he said.
Hewitt said planners should be able to bid out the project for
construction "within a matter of weeks" after the legislature reappropriates
funding.
House will be gutted and redone completely from the inside, with services
being relocated during the transition to Davis and Wilson libraries. No square
footage will be added, but the project will include a new floor plan with
wiring to support computers and networking, a new HVAC system, larger computer
labs, improved video facilities and more group study areas.
Also as a result of renovations, the Academic Technology and Networks
(ATN) user services center will move from the basement of Wilson Library to
refurbished space in the basement of House.
Hewitt said he's disappointed that the University can't move ahead with
the House project but added, "I fully understand the need to fund Floyd
relief."
Still, he said, he hopes the legislature will move quickly to restore
funding for the project once Floyd needs are met, given the library's
importance to campus and overdue maintenance needs.
Carolina plans to raise $5 million in private dollars for the project to
add to the state's contribution. Hewitt said the state freeze will not affect
that effort, which has raised $1.2 million so far.
Of the $5 million in private dollars, Hewitt said $2 million will go to
high-end technology and furniture. The other $3 million will establish an
endowment to pay for printed materials and other items aimed at undergraduate
education, as well as fund additional staff positions that will focus on
undergraduate programs, he said.
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