Construction most likely to begin after exams
Renovations to the Women’s Quadrangle won’t be held up by a delayed state vote to approve the project, according to Chief Financial Officer Ed Walton.
USC’s new plan: Start work on the three residence halls around when students move out at the end of the semester after the project gets the state’s OK to issue bonds to pay for it.
Exams are scheduled until May 8, but an exact construction start date isn’t set yet, university spokesman Wes Hickman said.
The Budget and Control Board was set to vote to allow USC to take on $34 million of debt Tuesday, but because a member had unanswered questions about the project, the university pushed the vote back.
At first, administrators thought the delay could snag the $27.2 million renovation because the board isn’t scheduled to meet until May 7, around when construction was slated to begin.
They were worried that could potentially hold up the work for up to a year, but those concerns ebbed after university officials met Tuesday night to find a workable plan.
“Everything [Tuesday] that was being written about was speculative,” Hickman said. “Nobody really knew the answer.”
Still, there’s some lag time between when USC gets state approval and when it gets cash because it must issue bonds and then wait to get money from them.
But according to Walton, construction projects aren’t paid up front; instead, USC will pay in installments after work begins. When the first payment will be due isn’t yet known.
It’s also possible the Budget and Control Board could meet for a special meeting before May.
Such a meeting would have to be called by Gov. Nikki Haley, according to Lindsay Kremlick, the board’s spokeswoman.
Haley’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The three Women’s Quad buildings — McClintock, Sims and Wade Hampton — will be closed for the 2013–14 academic year for the renovation work and reopened by Fall 2014. The buildings range from 54 to 74 years old.
The project has been described as a health and safety need for the university.
Last year, 16 residents of Sims were moved out because mold was growing in their rooms.