Atlanta — June 7, 2005

The Board of Regents updated its rolling five-year Major Capital Priority List today, after hearing from University System officials about the need for $7 billion in new campus facilities to meet continuously increasing enrollment growth and slowed funding for current projects on the priority list.

The board voted to increase the popular “capital project wish list” to a total of $813.2 million in construction needs, with five new projects costing $254 million added to the end of the existing 22-project Major Capital Priority List.

The updated list was finalized after presidents representing 14 University System institutions presented their capital priorities totaling $628.8 million for consideration to the Board of Regents. After hearing the presidents outline their institution’s most demanding needs, the regents individually evaluated and ranked the 14 requests.

The projects were weighed against their adherence to the Board of Regents’ 10 Guiding Principles for Resource Allocation. The principles place a priority on facilities that accommodate existing and future enrollment growth and required academic programs. Highest priority is given to instructional facilities, followed by academic support facilities, student support buildings, then finally administrative and infrastructure needs.

The five new projects added to the list today include:

• Georgia State University’s Humanities Building, $57.5 million;
• Dalton State College’s Academic Building, $22 million;
• Savannah State University’s Science and Engineering Technology Building, $28 million;
• The University of Georgia’s Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, $68.5 million; and
• The Medical College of Georgia’s School of Dentistry, $78 million.

“Our revised list truly reflects our most urgent needs,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. “We closely evaluated the proposals from the presidents, and while all were worthwhile, we had to narrow the list of projects we put forward to the board. The regents made the final determination based on the strength of the cases that were put forward.”

The top eight projects on the list, totaling approximately $202 million, will be proposed for full funding in the Board of Regents’ Fiscal Year 2007 budget request. The next nine projects will be proposed for design funds only, at a cost of $19 million. Funding for the remaining projects will be sought in future fiscal years.

According to USG Vice Chancellor for Facilities Linda Daniels, who manages the capital priority process for the Board of Regents, the 14 projects presented today by campus presidents were screened from 57 proposals with a total value of more than $1.7 billion.

For Fiscal Year 2006, the General Assembly was unable to provide construction funds for any projects on the Regents Major Capital Priority List. However, design funds were provided for the first eight projects on the list.

“We understand there are other issues affecting the state’s ability to issue bonds,” said Meredith.” As construction funds begin to flow again, it is critical that we move forward expeditiously in meeting these urgent needs for facilities.”

In addition to expanding their capital priority list, the Board of Regents also approved a University System staff recommendation to adjust current USG construction project budgets to accommodate annual cost increases. Based on an analysis conducted by independent construction-cost estimating firms, the regents approved a 6 percent increase to reflect current market conditions. This action added $31,657,308 to the total of existing projects on the major capital list.

The Board of Regents new Major Capital Priority List will be submitted to the state’s Office of Planning and Budget this September. Gov. Sonny Perdue will utilize the list to develop his budget recommendations for the 2007 fiscal year, which will be considered by the General Assembly when it convenes for the 2006 legislative session.

A full copy of the updated Major Capital Priority list can be secured at: http://www.usg.edu/news/2005/docs/capital_list_060705.pdf (PDF 16k)

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