The Board of Trustees will decide Thursday whether to approve a decision to lease space in the South Campus Gateway for University Communications, which will ultimately cost the university millions of dollars.

OSU officials would like to move the Office of University Communications, which houses personnel from Marketing Communications, Research Communications and Internal Communications, from the Kinnear Road Center to a space in the Gateway. Over the initial leasing period of 10 years, the proposal estimates the cost to be about $2.5 million. The plant, operation and maintenance fee that University Communications pays at Kinnear is $125,622.28, said Lynn Readey, associate vice president of OSU’s Facilities Operations and Development.

The decision to move the office was made last April after the Kinnear Road Center Facilities Assessment said the building needed major and costly renovations.

University Communications is housed in Building A of the five-building center, which the assessment described as having “aging” mechanical systems and asbestos in the ceiling. The assessment said the hot water boiler, rooftop air conditioning unit, lights and fire alarm system needed to be updated or replaced.

Also, the building doesn’t meet the standards set in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The assessment recommended the installation of a handicap ramp and elevator access to the second floor.

However, the assessment later said building an elevator to the second floor would “not seem practical.”

In addition to the $2.5 million for the lease, at least $1.1 million will be needed to improve and build out the space, including furniture and moving expenses. OSU will pay $619,000 for tenant improvements through “central funding,” and University Communications will have to fund the rest, according to the proposal.

Safety and building conditions are the biggest reasons for the move, but the move also brings the office closer to central campus.

Many employees spend time driving between central campus and Kinnear for meetings and have wanted to move closer to campus for some time, said David Hoover, assistant vice president of University Marketing Communications.

“We have attempted for many years to lobby for office space on or near central campus,” Hoover said in an e-mail. “And finally, the stars aligned as this building (at Kinnear) extended beyond its ‘good years,’ and space became available at the Gateway.”

Readey agreed. She will be presenting the lease proposal for approval to the Fiscal Affairs Committee at Thursday’s meeting.

Readey said the university looked at many factors while deciding on a new space, and the site of the office played a big role.

“It’s like when you’re looking for an apartment,” Readey said, “It’s location, location, location.”

Other locations were considered both on and off campus, including university-owned office space in Lincoln Tower and on Kenny Road. But the office space in the Gateway seemed to be the better investment, Readey said.

The proposed space is located at 21 E. 11th Ave.