If Ohio State were to fix its entire backlog of maintenance needs tomorrow, it would cost the university $1 billion.

That’s $286 million in deferred maintenance, $467 million in deferred renovations and $267 million in road work and construction needs, according to studies presented to the Board of Trustees in 2007.

But OSU administrators say this is nothing new for the university and that OSU falls in the middle when compared to other universities.

OSU planners will present some interim solutions to the trustees when they meet Wednesday.

“Keep in mind how big we are, and keep in mind that we have 20 million square feet in buildings on this campus,” said Lynn Readey, associate vice president of Facilities Operations and Development.

The university has no firm data on the number of buildings that need work, and no data on the amount of money it would take to fix each building.

“We’re working hard at that, and that’s part of the process we’re in now,” Readey said.

The number depends on how well OSU wants to maintain its buildings, said Jeff Kaplan, senior vice president of Administration and Planning.
“If you want your buildings in pristine conditions, then you’d say, ‘Make these estimates to this,'” he said. “We have around 440 buildings, and you really could be off by some millions of dollars.”

Kaplan said he expects that the university will have a firm estimate for the Board of Trustees in February.

Kaplan said the estimate probably will be based on a plan that would make buildings safe and restore them to adequate shape.

After the 2007 reports, the topic of deferred maintenance came up again at the trustees’ June meeting, Readey said. Kaplan also said the new study is part of a “master plan” that evaluates how campus space is used.

“It’s the most comprehensive study of our facilities and deferred-maintenance needs that the university has ever done,” he said.

Kaplan said Laura Shinn, director of Planning, along with OSU consultants, are trying to visit each building on campus to determine its condition and repair cost, and to determine whether the building should be restored or demolished.

Readey said the term deferred maintenance is hard to define. She used the family car as an example.

“We call something like replacing your tires with new ones renewal maintenance. If you should have replaced your tires and you didn’t, that falls into deferred maintenance,” she said.

Kaplan said it is not uncommon for universities to fall behind with their maintenance.

“Universities generally do a pretty lousy job of funding deferred maintenance,” Kaplan said. “It’s just habit to say, ‘Well, things are OK now. That floor is a little shabby, but the university has a professor they really want to hire, so we can make due with that little tiny leak,'” he said. “And suddenly, the ‘little tiny leak’ becomes a $10,000 problem.”

He said the trustees’ effort to establish a firm estimate is valuable for OSU.

OSU has begun to address the maintenance problem with the recent completion of some major projects and the demolition of some buildings that were too costly to restore. Readey cited the demolitions of Brown and Lord halls, the renovation of Thompson Library and the completion of the new Ohio Union. She listed Vivian Hall as another building set for demolition soon.

Besides the $1 billion price tag that OSU now carries, it is running up an additional $14 million in deferred maintenance costs each year.

Shinn said the university needs a sensible plan to address the growing problem.

“Where is that balance between what you spent on that keep-up versus where is the daily maintenance,” she said. “It’s a bit of a balancing act.”
Whatever the trustees decide, there will be plenty of construction on campus in the years ahead.

“Future students will be assured of higher quality space across the board,” Kaplan said.