The final project budget for UConn’s downtown Hartford campus has been set at $140 million, nearly $25 million more than was originally projected as bids and work to preserve the former Hartford Times building came in higher-than-expected, school officials say.
The UConn Board of Trustees signed off on the budget in a meeting Wednesday. University spokesperson Stephanie Rietz said in an email, “It was necessary to adjust the earlier estimates once we learned that the work to preserve the Hartford Times façade would be much more expensive and extensive than expected, particularly since it needed more stabilization than anticipated.
“We also received higher-than-expected bids from contractors interested in working on the project, despite sending it out for bid twice; and need to remove PCBs that were found in interior plaster.”
When originally designed, the project had a $115 million construction price tag. UConn trustees were told in a memo from Scott A. Jordan, UConn CFO and executive vice president for administration, that the costs had to be adjusted 10 percent for each of the next two years because of rising Connecticut construction market costs.
The budget adjustment allows UConn to keep the schedule on track so the new campus will open as planned in fall 2017, and avoids cutting out essential pieces of the construction that would have made the campus smaller and less appropriate for the academic work planned there. According to UConn, money to adjust the budget will come from contingency funds, so it doesn’t result in the need to move funds from other projects.