Closed door discussion leads to decision
USC’s board of trustees approved a $15 million increase in the price tag of the new Darla Moore School of Business after discussion in a closed-door meeting Friday afternoon.
All told, the project will now cost about $106.5 million, according to USC. The increase will be funded with a $15 million gift from USC’s private Educational Foundation, according to chief financial officer Ed Walton.
Construction should finish by December 2013, Walton said after the board meeting.
The behind-doors meeting was to discuss a contractual matter with the board regarding the contracts to build the school, said Tommy Stepp, secretary to USC’s board of trustees. Walton said USC trustees would have discussed the changes in the project’s scope in open session had “protocol been followed.”
What was meant to stay behind closed doors was contractual decisions between the university and the firms hired to complete the project, Walton said.
The extra funds will add natural light and an open-air pavilion to the new school. It will allow USC to meet top environmental certifications and become “net zero” efficient, according to Walton.
It will also move the school’s cafeteria into the basement; it was originally on the first floor. The first floor will have open windows in all directions and wouldn’t be conducive to “serving and preparing food,” Walton said.
Walton said the university realized a while back it would have to increase the price of the project but wanted to develop the full proposal before presenting to the board of trustees, which unanimously approved the uptick in price without discussion after the private meeting.
Walton said Moore hadn't asked for any of the changes "to his knowledge." The new school will be located in the heart of Innovista near the Carolina Coliseum and the Koger Center.