With an additional $5.3 million now at its disposal, the architecture team heading the Allen Hall renovation is one step closer to its goal of substantially expanding the building while still honoring University-wide efforts to conserve energy.
“One of the goals of the project is to build the addition, but not to increase the energy of the building,” said Fred Tepfer, Allen Hall project planning co-manager, regarding the renovations. “Some of the things were right on the edge of what the original funding would cover.”
The project’s initial $15 million budget — $7.5 million in state bonds and $7.5 million in private donations — was approved by the State Board of Higher Education as part of the 2009-2011 Oregon University System Capital Construction Budget.
The additional $5.3 million, which was approved by the board last Friday, was not originally included in the project’s budget. At the meeting, the board also accepted the University’s request to expend an additional $10 million in on the $65 million Lewis Integrative Science Building project for the Huestis Zebrafish Facility, consisting of $9.1 million in grant funds and $883,000 in gifts.
“Any changes in capital construction projects need to be approved by the board,” said Diane Saunders, director of communications for the OUS.
After determining that the projects should be expanded, the University went back to the board to request using institutional fund balances, or financial reserves, to cover the additional costs.
“The University is putting some money into the (Allen Hall) project that wasn’t there before,” School of Journalism and Communication Dean Tim Gleason said of the approved funding. “It’s welcome support of the project, and it further leverages the private dollars that are being contributed to the project.”
The bulk of the new funding for the SOJC building will go to a new basement to house server facilities for the entire University, Tepfer said. But the new funding will also contribute to upgrading existing air heating and cooling systems, replacing exterior windows and substituting inefficient steam radiators with modern hot water heating systems. 
“There was an opportunity to improve the overall efficiency for the building,” Gleason said. “It will be a lot cheaper to do it now than do it later.”
If the Allen Hall project succeeds in expanding without adding to the University’s overall energy use, it could act as a model for the several other proposed construction projects across campus. 
“It’s a good example of what we hope to do more of in the future,” said Christine Thompson, a Campus Planning and Real Estate associate. Thompson added that the expansion coincides with the group’s bigger effort to draft guidelines for a new sustainability policy for all University buildings. 
“The goal is to have no new energy needs,” Thompson said of the proposed guidelines, called the Oregon Model for Sustainable Development. “That is not a requirement right now, but it is a proposal that we plan on adopting by the end of this term.”
Gleason acknowledged that in the short term, the proposed changes will incurred additional costs for the University but that in the long run, it would have proved unwise not to account for the changes.
“We’re very excited that this project is moving ahead on schedule,” Gleason said. “It’s going to be a really transformative process for the School of Journalism.”
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