Major milestone

Private gifts to the South Lawn Project exceeded the goal set for June 30,
2006, and a ceremonial groundbreaking was scheduled for September.

The most ambitious construction project on the University’s Central Grounds in more than a century, the first phase of the South Lawn Project will add more than 100,000 square feet of academic space for the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and will be the home of the history, politics and religious studies departments. The budget for this phase is $105 million, and construction may begin in 2007 with completion in 2010.

The Board of Visitors approved a schematic design by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners of Santa Monica, Calif., in April. “The Board approval and the visual materials provided by Moore Ruble Yudell gave many donors extra confidence to move ahead with their commitments,” said Arts & Sciences Dean Edward L. Ayers.

John Nau, immediate past president of the College Foundation, issued a challenge to current and emeritus College Foundation trustees in April. Nau pledged to provide matching gift funds for new and increased commitments to the South Lawn Project received before the June 30, 2006, deadline to help meet the project’s second funding goal.

Private gifts and pledges in support of the South Lawn Project now total $49 million from more than 100 donors. These funds have a net present value of $42.5 million, surpassing the $40.8 million goal for June 30. Net present value (NPV) represents the current, discounted value of future cash flows from pledges.

The College now faces a final deadline of June 30, 2007, to complete fundraising for the project’s first phase. An additional $18.7 million (NPV) must be raised by then to reach the $61.2 million (NPV) in private donations the project requires. The University has committed funds totaling $43.8 million to the project.

Read other South Lawn articles and updates.