Gov. James S. Gilmore III announced Monday the release of $7 million in funds to begin work on a new Special Collections Library.
"The Special Collections Library is central to the future of academic life at the University," Gilmore said. "I am very pleased that U.Va. will be able to move forward with this important project."
The groundbreaking for the new Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture as well as the Albert H. Small Special Collections Library occurred April 29, 2001. But construction was put on hold when remaining funds were frozen as a result of the General Assembly's budget impasse last spring.
However the Gilmore administration was able to unfreeze about $52 million in funds to be distributed among several Virginia schools, Gilmore spokesman Chris Freund said.
University spokeswoman Louise Dudley said the dispersal of the $7 million to the University completes the fundraising aspect of the $26 million Special Collections project.
The Commonwealth "had already freed up a little bit earlier this year," Dudley said.
Along with $10 million in state funding, the project received private donations to cover the cost, with an additional $10 million coming from University alumnus Harrison. Harrison's previous contributions helped fund such projects as the David A. Harrison III Law Grounds and the David A. Harrison III Field, an artificial turf playing field located near University Hall.
The institute and library will be located on the site of Miller Hall, which currently houses the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, and will include an underground facility located beneath the grassy area in front of Alderman Library. The building will connect to the Robertson Media Center, located on the third floor of Clemons library, said Lynda Clendenning, director of the Harrison Institute.
The building, designed by Hartman-Cox Architects, will include climate-controlled stacks, additional exhibit and research space, multimedia classrooms and an auditorium, according to Kathryn Morgan, head of collections in Special Collections.
"The new building will really allow us to show our material," Morgan said.
Construction is expected to begin on the project "by the end of the calendar year," said University Library budget director Jeanne Hammer, who also is building coordinator for the project.
First it is necessary for the University to contract someone to do the construction, Hammer said.
Other obstacles include clearing Miller Hall of asbestos before its demolition and reviewing the fire code for the new building, she said.
The University chose the Special Collections project to receive the funding because it was both "ready to go under construction by the end of this year and that it [was] a top academic priority," according to University President John T. Casteen III.
The Special Collections department hopes the new building will help the University secure a donation of 20th-century English language poetry worth $15 million, Hammer said.
"Without the building, I don't think there would be any chance that we would get the donation," she said.
With the project now able to proceed, hopes are high that the state of the art facility, expected to be completed in mid-2004, and the valuable poetry collection will soon be within grasp of the University, Clendenning said.
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