Campus housing plan: Renovations to nearly all residence halls

At their Jan. 7 meeting, the regents of the University System of Georgia decided to postpone consideration of an increase in the cost of renovations to Reed Hall planned for this spring. The renovations were originally estimated at $8.5 million. Several improvements, including greater privacy for residents, will result from the requested increase of $1.9 million. The regents will consider the proposed change at their February meeting. It is the first project in the university's overall plan for renovating campus housing, which is summarized here.

Preparing for the 21st century
The UGA residence halls have a proud history and rich tradition of positively contributing to the quality of student life, providing a supportive setting for pursuing academic goals and fulfilling peer-group affiliation needs. Each year about 6,000 students, approximately 20 percent of the total enrollment, reside in one of our 17 residence halls.

Although annual maintenance and renovations have been routinely completed, the combined impact of time and unabated occupancy has taken its toll on campus residence halls. With an average age of 42 years, nearly all will require major renovations over the next 10 years. Indeed, 10 of 17 halls, home to more than 36 percent of our student residents, are in critical need of restoration.

Today's students have more demanding lifestyle expectations than a generation ago. The double-loaded corridor design from the 1960s and 1970s is outdated and does not meet their needs. Students typically voice concerns about privacy in rooms and bathrooms, climate control, noise levels, quality of furnishings and finishes, and scholarly amenities such as study rooms, computer labs and computer connections in their rooms.

Through an extensive effort to ensure that facilities continue to meet the needs of UGA students into the 21st century, we have formulated a multi-phase plan to reconfigure and renovate, in order to keep pace with the changing expectations of our clientele and the changing learning environment.

Current state of residence facilities
Our residence halls can be grouped into three categories, based on age and physical condition. Construction dates appear in parentheses.
Good (2 halls)
Soule (1918, renovated 1990), McWhorter (1967 and 1987)
Average (5 halls)
Oglethorpe House (1967), Creswell (1963), Brumby (1966), Russell 1967), Mary Lyndon (1937, renovated 1973)
Below average (10 halls)
Rutherford (1938), Payne (1939), Myers and Reed (1953), Morris (1957), Boggs, Church, Mell, Hill, Lipscomb (1961)

Each building, including those in good condition, has significant deficiencies. Halls with an average rating have primary building systems that are inadequate or will need replacement during the next 10 years, with major renovation needed in approximately 15 years. The 10 halls rated below average have been assigned a high priority due to their urgent need for renovation. Based on historical data and an industry-standard construction-forecasting model, the estimated total cost will be approximately $50 million to $60 million.

Family housing also requires attention. The 579 family-housing units on campus have an average age of 26 years and encompass apartments in the University Village section, constructed in 1964 and 1966; the Rogers Road apartments, built in 1973; and Brandon Oaks, built in 1988. No significant improvements have been made to these buildings since their construction. They are in average condition based on the same criteria used to rate the residence halls and will need major renovations.

Reed Hall set for major renovation
The first project is Reed Hall. Slated to undergo a $10.4 million renovation beginning in spring 1997, 44-year-old Reed Hall will be completely modernized to meet student needs and comply with current facilities standards.

Plans for Reed include reconfiguring the design to enhance privacy and boost student appeal; enhancing public areas to encourage student interaction and strengthen programming opportunities; upgrading fire-safety and security systems; installing computer capabilities and an efficient climate-control system; and providing full accessibility for students with disabilities, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The department of university housing is currently consulting with the architectural firm Surber, Barber, Choate and Hertlein to finalize the renovation design of Reed Hall, which is expected to re-open by fall 1998.

Long-term renovation plans
As the Reed project is completed in fall 1998, renovation will begin on Myers Hall and Payne Hall. Ensuing projects will be Rutherford, Morris, Hill, Lipscomb, Boggs, Church, Mell and Mary Lyndon halls.

Hill, Lipscomb, Boggs, Church and Mell halls present a unique challenge. Comprising two complexes, these halls are impossible to renovate cost-effectively. These five halls will be razed and replaced with two state-of-the-art residence halls for the 21st century. Project cost will be approximately $34 million.

Following this first phase, five additional halls (Oglethorpe House, Creswell, Brumby, Russell and Mary Lyndon) will have an average age exceeding 40 years and will also need extensive renovation.

Moreover, family housing units will reach 40 and 50 years of age during the first decades of the next century and will require equally thorough restoration. Additional family housing is needed to meet the rising demand for two- and three-bedroom apartment units.

Funding the future
The existing structure of reserve- and surplus-fund allocation will severely hamper efforts to bring residence facilities up to acceptable standards. Rents and associated user fees are the sole source of income for the campus housing operation; while these revenues are adequate for the routine maintenance inherent in day-to-day operation, they are insufficient to fund this type of major renovation and renewal.

Ongoing repair, maintenance and improvement projects on existing facilities will require at least $1 million annually for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, based on calculated renovation costs, an additional $4 million to $5 million will be necessary in each of the next 12 years for planned renovation and debt service.

In 1991, the National Association of College and University Business Officers established a model for re-investing in college and university facilities. When applied to UGA's housing facilities, it reveals that the housing department's total annual re-investment into reserve and surplus accounts for residence-hall and family-housing projects should approximate $5.3 million annually, explicitly earmarked for funding restoration measures.

In comparison, annual contributions for the past four years have averaged $3.7 million.

Although the chasm between these figures is wide, the department has devised a restoration initiative to ensure that the university will be able to meet the challenges of housing students into the next century.

Over the past three years, the department has increased its rates to more closely match those of peer institutions regionally (see chart). Increased rate­generated funding is vital to the success of improving on-campus housing without depleting already strained institutional budgets.

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1996-97 RESIDENCE HALL RATES
SEC and Selected Southeastern Institutions
Ranked from highest to lowest rates

Rank	Institution	Rate*
1	Vanderbilt University	$4,334
2	Florida State University	$2,442+
3	Georgia Institute of Technology	$2,409**
4	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	$2,220
5	University of Alabama	$2,110-2,210
6	University of Virginia	$2,202
7	University of Arkansas	$1,882-$2,142
8	University of Georgia	$2,115
9	University of Mississippi	$1,660-2,000
10	Clemson University	$1,560-1,970
11	University of Florida	$1,962
12	Louisiana State University	$1,920
13	University of Kentucky	$1,898
14	Auburn University	$1,740-1,860***
15	University of Tennessee	$1,800***
16	University of South Carolina	$1768
17	Mississippi State University	$1,500
Average of 16 public institutions		$2,062
*Typical yearly rate: double occupancy, air-conditioned, community bath; for those institutions which offer a range of rates, ranking (and average) is based upon the highest rate. + Includes refrigerator ** Includes live Ethernet connection *** Suite double; no comparable double with community bath

Another revealing figure comes from the local housing market. The typical monthly rent at the most popular off-campus apartment complexes is $310 per person (plus utilities, cable TV and phone service) for a two-bedroom unit. In a nine-month academic year, a student/parent spends approximately $2,790 for housing. (Most apartments require 12-month contracts, or approximately $3,720 in annual housing costs, plus utility costs.) Clearly, when compared with the university rate of $2,115 (which includes utilities, cable TV and phone service), price is not the prime factor driving housing decisions for a significant number of students/parents. In fact, student surveys show that bedroom and bathroom privacy is their number one concern.

Such an overview of peer institutions and local off-campus housing options demonstrates that UGA remains an outstanding housing value, and adjusting campus housing rates to within the top one-third of comparable schools will help generate needed renovation funds.

However, UGA will soon maximize rental-income potential and will need other revenue sources to bridge the gap between physical needs and financial means in order to avoid excessively burdening students who need affordable campus housing.

Fiscal planning to sustain excellence

Unlike many of the nation's major university campus-housing programs, the department has very little long-term debt at this time. The only notable debt is a forthcoming $3 million College Facilities Loan from the U.S. Department of Education for fire-safety, electrical, security and disabled-access improvements. Debt service on the loan will be approximately $250,000 annually for 20 years. Thus, the solvency of the department provides a solid foundation from which to launch a facilities-renewal program.

As the institution positions itself among the nation's top public universities, failing to address crucial renovation needs will result in a weakened ability to serve student needs in the coming century. It will also result in increased construction expenses to meet the department's most pressing challenge for the next 10 to 20 years.

But, perhaps most importantly, it will result in a disservice to a rich institutional tradition of outstanding student housing and to future students at the University of Georgia.