The University Board of Visitors’ Building and Grounds committee convened Friday to discuss the progress and goals related to University facilities.
Colette Sheehy, senior vice president for Operations, began the meeting by requesting the committee to approve the name change of the South Lawn Commons to Dean Commons, after alumnus Thompson Dean III.
Dean received a B.A. in foreign affairs from the University in 1979 and has been “a generous donor to the University and has served in a number of important volunteer leadership roles,” according to the Buildings and Grounds Committee agenda.
“Mr. Dean is a very generous contributor to the College,” Sheehy said.
The committee approved the name change.
Last November, the committee approved a motion to renovate the Inn at Darden to increase occupancy. This renovation was estimated to cost $13.8 million.
William H. Goodwin Jr., chair of the BOV Executive Committee, suggested the committee spend time analyzing what it would take to make the Darden Inn as attractive as possible.
“$14 million is a lot of money, and if we could make it $4 or $5 million more we could really make it what I call five star rooms,” Goodwin said. “At least somebody needs to look at, draw out and analyze costs.”
The committee approved giving the Richmond-based company Glavé and Holmes the contract, citing its “extensive experience working on hospitality renovations in both the public arena and universities.” The company will address building deficiencies and renew interior spaces.
Sheehy reported on the University’s decreased deferred maintenance backlog, or the amount of maintenance costs deferred in order to save money for other budgets.
“We took it upon ourselves, with the board’s concurrence and support, to put together a 10-year plan of how we would improve the condition of our facilities and we are now at the end of that 10 years,” Sheehy said. “And I’m happy to report that we are pretty close to being there.”
The University's facility condition index, which measures the ratio between maintenance backlog and the replacement value of the facilities, is down from 10.6 percent in 2004 to 5 percent currently. Recognized industry benchmarks assume an FCI lower than 5 percent is considered good, whereas one above 10 percent is considered bad.
Kevin Fay, Building and Grounds committee chair, explained the weight of this accomplishment.
“Given the economic situation that we’ve endured, the fact that we are where we are is very significant,” Fay said. “I can tell you as someone who’s been involved with public bodies at all levels, when budgets hit the skids, the first budgets to go are maintenance budgets.”
Additionally, the maintenance reinvestment rate — the ratio of the building maintenance expenditures to the total replacement value — is down to 1.86 percent. A range of 1.5 to 4 percent is considered necessary in order to prevent the growth of deferred maintenance backlog, according to a written report by the Buildings and Grounds Committee.
University Architect Alice Raucher discussed proposed additions to the University's Major Capital Projects Program, which totals $2,119,279,818.
These additions include renovations to Pavilions III, V and VII, as well as Hotel A, an expansion of the McIntire School of Commerce, renovations to the Darden School of Business’ classrooms and the addition of space to the Batten School.
“Since its inception, the Batten School has grown largely in line with its original predictions,” Raucher said. “As it continues to grow into a stand alone, top-tier school, we need to have an appropriate amount of space for students and communities.”
She also proposed Darden’s classrooms be renovated due to their current inability to adapt to changing curricula and pedagogies in business.
The next Building and Grounds Committee meeting will be April 26, 2016.
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