GREENSBORO – Not many donors want to put their name on an HVAC system. Yet sometimes those systems need to be replaced. And across the UNC System, postponed maintenance amounts to billions of dollars.
“There’s deferred maintenance on all of our campuses,” UNC Greensboro Chancellor Frank Gilliam Jr. says in the accompanying video. Then Gilliam proceeds to share a story about his, um, pungent introduction to an old classroom building.
“The deferred maintenance that’s required on all of the UNC campuses is significant,” Gilliam says. “The buildings age – it’s just that simple.”
At UNCG alone, the estimated cost of postponed roof repairs is $30 million, with $500 million in total campus needs. Gilliam notes that the maintenance needs at UNC-Chapel Hill are more than $1 billion.
Yet it’s a challenge to get people – particularly donors – excited about HVAC systems, chiller plants, pipes and control switches.
If visitors don’t notice problems with lighting, room temperature, roof leaks or hot water, “There’s a reason for that – people take care of things,” Gilliam says. “However, you need money to do it.”
“The fact that the legislature is really looking to provide resources for repair and renovation out of the surplus that they do have I think is very wise,” he says.
In particular, UNCG will be “thrilled” to renovate and expand Jackson Library, adding classrooms, meeting space and safety compliance at a projected cost of $81 million.1
“And it’s the most-used building on our campus,” Gilliam says.
1https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/bog/doc.php?id=65780&code=bog, p. 82.
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