New 750k House for the President | Page 2 | The Boneyard

New 750k House for the President

ConnHuskBask said:
The UConn President is going to making upwards of $1M dollars a year - which I assume is in line with other major state universities.

Just odd to me they get a house on top of that for a job that amounts to shaking a few hands and spending other people's money.
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Do you speak Chinese?

Apparently you are missing a MAJOR component of the Job. They need elegant space to entertain donors and fundraise and recruit faculty and meet the Governor and other functions of importance. Sure … there also is a Traditional element - University President's at Major Universities always have this landmark building at every Major State U (didja ever wonder why there is a White House or a Governor's Mansion in your state … or even the Blue House in South Korea>?). Ensures a high end reception space for dignitaries - beyond just the Development office or Alumni hall.

Culturally … this is accepted in Academia as it is in Government.
 
Pudge said:
Do you speak Chinese?
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In this instance, all evidence above strongly suggests ConnHusk would not be helped by Chinese fluency.

However, a few top Chinese university presidents I’ve met appear to live pretty darn comfortably. Nope, neither odd nor weird just benies of the job and connections. ;)
 
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huskyrob1 said:
Lieutenant, I don't mean to nitpick but UConn was not paying any property taxes on the building while they rented it from the Lodewick's. The Lodewick's were paying the taxes. UConn payed only rental fees and payed for the maintenance upkeep of the building and grounds.


View attachment 44429
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Actually, what I read was that UConn was only paying the property taxes but was not required to pay rental fees. Nevertheless, it is a property which is an expense for the U. Better to have UConn buy up the properties than the local townies. More space for the new football stadium.

44430
 
Kolumbo said:
Actually, what I read was that UConn was only paying the property taxes but was not required to pay rental fees. Nevertheless, it is a property which is an expense for the U. Better to have UConn buy up the properties than the local townies. More space for the new football stadium.

View attachment 44430
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BOT Minutes:

Buy the cow if the milk's not free.

"The university has leased the home for several years, most recently at no cost to UConn. However, the university does pay local property taxes on the house in the amount of approximately $18,000 a year and is responsible for its routine maintenance and upkeep. "
 
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You can't both scold UConn for spending on a president's house and then complain they are not fundraising enough. One is needed for more donations. That is the case whether it is a public or private university. It also may be used when presidents of out of state schools playing in CT attend a game and later meet with the UConn president. Or, when presidents visit to work out athletic conference membership -- ACC or Big 10 -- or even scheduling a game during our immediate future.
 
Kolumbo said:
BOT Minutes:

Buy the cow if the milk's not free.

"The university has leased the home for several years, most recently at no cost to UConn. However, the university does pay local property taxes on the house in the amount of approximately $18,000 a year and is responsible for its routine maintenance and upkeep. "
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Son of a gun, that's what Scott Jordan's letter does say. My mistake, I thought I heard exactly the opposite at the BOT meeting when Scott spoke. I should pay attention. :)
 
LoyalFanCT said:
I wouldn't focus on the UConn president's house -- wait until the basketball fans start demanding the quarter of a billion dollars to fix the XL Center. It may end up being more. And right now, it's largely to benefit the UConn basketball programs. There are other venues in Hartford for conferences and trade shows. Unless, CT can somehow get a professional indoor sports team to play in Hartford, how is this supposed to pay for itself?
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Is it possible for you to complete a post here without creating a straw man?
 
freescooter said:
Um it has been a major part of college presidents lives for maybe 200 years or so. More if you include European schools. Good grief some of you are just amazingly cheap. UConn is a state university. Of course it will spend “taxpayers” funds on various function. Some like AReal Estate might be self supporting. Others like athletics are not. And the UConn budget is $2.4 BILLION. They probably spend move than $750000 on office supplies. The Presidents of every major university and college in the country have something comparable. The old one is pretty nice but needs a major renovation. Honestly. We just incurred a $20 million bill changing leagues and gave up $5 million in payment so we can MSG. And people are complaining about this. U.N.-freaking-real.
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I get all that about having a proper home for the President, but some of us wonder how we could have spent $1 Million on this house a few years ago and now need to spend $1-2 Million to replace the roof and plumbing? What world do people live in if they believe that is a rational estimate? It isn't rational but makes a convenient excuse, no matter how weak.

For starters, let's ask why the roof needs to be slate. If the house is so stately it demands slate then the house must be valuable enough to properly renovate it this time.
Plumbing? You could rip out all the walls and do the plumbing at prices nowhere near these $.
What else needs to be done to require that level of expenditure?

How about developing complete specs and drawings and publicly bidding the work?

If it's so decrepit, give it to me and I'll renovate it and sell it to Kemba Walker to use when he comes to Gampel from Boston for a game or two.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
The UConn President is going to making upwards of $1M dollars a year - which I assume is in line with other major state universities.

Just odd to me they get a house on top of that for a job that amounts to shaking a few hands and spending other people's money.
Expand ...
Tv just said a little over $500k, and Sue was a little over $600k.
 
Scrutiner said:
I get all that about having a proper home for the President, but some of us wonder how we could have spent $1 Million on this house a few years ago and now need to spend $1-2 Million to replace the roof and plumbing? What world do people live in if they believe that is a rational estimate? It isn't rational but makes a convenient excuse, no matter how weak.

For starters, let's ask why the roof needs to be slate. If the house is so stately it demands slate then the house must be valuable enough to properly renovate it this time.
Plumbing? You could rip out all the walls and do the plumbing at prices nowhere near these $.
What else needs to be done to require that level of expenditure?

How about developing complete specs and drawings and publicly bidding the work?

If it's so decrepit, give it to me and I'll renovate it and sell it to Kemba Walker to use when he comes to Gampel from Boston for a game or two.
Expand ...

>>The building’s outward appearance and condition are good. However, it has been determined that the building requires substantial deferred maintenance including totally replacing its slate roof; replacing its windows; addressing water seepage; replacing its HVAC system; refurbishing and/or renovating floors and rooms, and replacing facia, soffits and gutters, among other needs. The need for some of this work has been longstanding, but delayed for a number of years. The fact the building is considered “historic” in nature will drive-up the cost of such work, particularly the replacement of the slate roof, as replacement materials must meet exact specifications and the work must be completed and overseen by individuals with specialized training to work on historic structures. Due to the age of the building, it is very likely that costly environmental remediation would have to be conducted as part of any significant project, including the likely remediation of PCBs in numerous locations. In addition, the condition of the structure in areas that are not visible is largely unknown, and the condition of these areas, once known, could represent additional costs. This is common in older buildings.<<
 
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Scrutiner said:
I get all that about having a proper home for the President, but some of us wonder how we could have spent $1 Million on this house a few years ago and now need to spend $1-2 Million to replace the roof and plumbing? What world do people live in if they believe that is a rational estimate? It isn't rational but makes a convenient excuse, no matter how weak.

For starters, let's ask why the roof needs to be slate. If the house is so stately it demands slate then the house must be valuable enough to properly renovate it this time.
Plumbing? You could rip out all the walls and do the plumbing at prices nowhere near these $.
What else needs to be done to require that level of expenditure?

How about developing complete specs and drawings and publicly bidding the work?

If it's so decrepit, give it to me and I'll renovate it and sell it to Kemba Walker to use when he comes to Gampel from Boston for a game or two.
Expand ...
The Oak Hill House was built by the Dept of Public Works back in 1940 IIRC. I doubt if it cost $1,000,000. Unless I missed a major renovation somewhere along the way. :)
 
huskyrob1 said:
The Oak Hill House was built by the Dept of Public Works back in 1940 IIRC. I doubt if it cost $1,000,000. Unless I missed a major renovation somewhere along the way. :)
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It was done around Hogan's time. The Foundation also bought a house in West Hartford a few years ago for receptions fundraising...
 
huskyrob1 said:
Talk about misinformation. Well here goes, actually the real estate part of UConn does have money and quite a bit, thanks to all of Uconn's rental properties. It's been very profitable for the school. The house being given to the new president has been rented, managed, and maintained by the University for many years from the Lodewick family, the family approached the school with a sell offer and the owners and the school agreed to a price of $740,000 IIRC. The one Susan Herbst now lives in is the one that needs all the work. The roof leaks, plumbing repairs are needed etc. It's a slate roof too so it will be mega bucks. The BOT thought that it would be cheaper right now to give Dr Katsulas the Lodewick house than to spend $2,000,000 to fix Herbst's house. Bottom line, the BOT thought it more prudent to spend $2,000,000 on "other things" than to fix Susan Herbst's leaky roof. Trust me it's closer to $2,000,000 than $1,000,000.
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Sounds like Herbst trashed the place like it was a Carriage House apt.
 
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Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
So, you weren’t referring to a reno during Mike Hogan’s 2007-10 tenure? OK
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No, that house hasn't had any work done on it in many many many years. The BOT meeting spent over an hour talking about the fact that the house hasn't had any work done on it in decades. Wasn't Hogan the one who said his wife couldn't live in it because of her allergies so they put him in the Lodewick's house, maybe that's how the misinformation started? Kind of silly to say it had a reno 10 years ago and already needs 1 to 2 million in repairs. L
 
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huskyrob1 said:
No, that house hasn't had any work done on it in many many many years. The BOT meeting spent over an hour talking about the fact that the house hasn't had any work done on it in decades. Wasn't Hogan the one who said his wife couldn't live in it because of her allergies so they put him in the Lodewick's house, maybe that's how the misinformation started? Kind of silly to say it had a reno 10 years ago and already needs 1 to 2 million in repairs. Lol
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I think you nodded off @/watching the BOT mtg...

www.courant.com

UCONN’S MILLION DOLLAR MAKEOVER

The University of Connecticut has quietly completed a $1 million renovation and expansion of the president’s house that includes a new kitchen with granite countertops, a family room with a c…
www.courant.com www.courant.com
 
huskymedic said:
I think you nodded off @/watching the BOT mtg...

www.courant.com

UCONN’S MILLION DOLLAR MAKEOVER

The University of Connecticut has quietly completed a $1 million renovation and expansion of the president’s house that includes a new kitchen with granite countertops, a family room with a c…
www.courant.com www.courant.com
Expand ...
Wow, I guess I did. There wasn't one mention of a prior renovation during that meeting.
 
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huskymedic said:
I think you nodded off @/watching the BOT mtg...

www.courant.com

UCONN’S MILLION DOLLAR MAKEOVER

The University of Connecticut has quietly completed a $1 million renovation and expansion of the president’s house that includes a new kitchen with granite countertops, a family room with a c…
www.courant.com www.courant.com
Expand ...
Scott Jordan's letter to the board makes no mention of it either.
 
I just have to chuckle at the rationale for this largess. If the President’s house isn’t nice enough, he can’t entertain and raise donor funds...if Buffet can drive around in an old car, eat at McDonalds and make billions, I’m sure our President could suffer through the ghastly horror of living in a stately historic building or better still foot the bill for his own house like the rest of poor slobs.
 
huskyrob1 said:
Scott Jordan's letter to the board makes no mention of it either.
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Thats because they are claiming Oak Hill needs things like a new slate roof which was done 10 years ago.
 
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huskymedic said:
>>The building’s outward appearance and condition are good. However, it has been determined that the building requires substantial deferred maintenance including totally replacing its slate roof; replacing its windows; addressing water seepage; replacing its HVAC system; refurbishing and/or renovating floors and rooms, and replacing facia, soffits and gutters, among other needs. The need for some of this work has been longstanding, but delayed for a number of years. The fact the building is considered “historic” in nature will drive-up the cost of such work, particularly the replacement of the slate roof, as replacement materials must meet exact specifications and the work must be completed and overseen by individuals with specialized training to work on historic structures. Due to the age of the building, it is very likely that costly environmental remediation would have to be conducted as part of any significant project, including the likely remediation of PCBs in numerous locations. In addition, the condition of the structure in areas that are not visible is largely unknown, and the condition of these areas, once known, could represent additional costs. This is common in older buildings.<<
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Exactly, this is where any outrage should be levied.

So, a brick house...
1) Built in the 40s
2) By the state
3) With deferred maintenance ignored
...is "historic?" Really? As I said in the other thread, Thanks again, PROMansfield
 
Scrutiner said:
I get all that about having a proper home for the President, but some of us wonder how we could have spent $1 Million on this house a few years ago and now need to spend $1-2 Million to replace the roof and plumbing? What world do people live in if they believe that is a rational estimate? It isn't rational but makes a convenient excuse, no matter how weak.

For starters, let's ask why the roof needs to be slate. If the house is so stately it demands slate then the house must be valuable enough to properly renovate it this time.
Plumbing? You could rip out all the walls and do the plumbing at prices nowhere near these $.
What else needs to be done to require that level of expenditure?

How about developing complete specs and drawings and publicly bidding the work?

If it's so decrepit, give it to me and I'll renovate it and sell it to Kemba Walker to use when he comes to Gampel from Boston for a game or two.
Expand ...
At the time it was built people actually wanted a stately looking mansion for the President. While they are from somewhat different eras, Same reason that Beech Hall is attractive and Montieth and Arjona look like 1960 s elementary schools. Or the State Capital is ornate as is the old state office building but the newer stuff is indistinguishable from cheap professional building. The first factor was that people actually thought architecture of certain public buildings should reflect a degree of civic pride. That has been totally lost. 2nd was a change in architectural styles from about the mid60s that focused more on minimalism and function over design.
 
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