ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512260082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A preservation group says state taxpayers have an obligation to help the University of Virginia refurbish buildings on its historic central campus.
The Preservation Alliance of Virginia has written to Gov. George Allen, General Assembly members and members of the State Council of Higher Education to protest a September council recommendation on historic renovation.
The council, which advises legislators on higher education, recommended that for the first time UVa turn to private donors to pay for proposed renovations to some of the original buildings of Thomas Jefferson's 1820s-era campus.
``These are truly public places; they really are symbols of Virginia in many ways,'' said David J. Brown, executive director of the Staunton-based preservation alliance. ``For the state to abdicate its responsibility for preserving them, it sets a really bad precedent.''
The university requested $8.5 million from the state to pay for new roofs and make other improvements to student and faculty residences in original areas of the grounds.
The buildings have been recognized internationally as historic landmarks; in the past, the state has helped pay for their maintenance.
But officials of the higher education council said that because the buildings are so prominent, UVa should raise money from private sources before turning to taxpayers. The council also recommended private funding to restore the historic Wren Building at the College of William and Mary.
``The major reason people come to Virginia is because of our history - that's what tourism figures show,'' Brown said. ``If you take this to its ultimate absurdity, you have them saying you should get private money to restore the state Capitol, which is a historical landmark.''
The school's request for help in the refurbishing was contained in its six-year $195 million capital-projects plan, but the historical projects themselves were not scheduled until the 1998-2000 budget biennium.
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