Although the declining state economy has had far-reaching effects in many areas of the University, officials say it has not seriously affected plans for capital improvement projects around Grounds.
The economic downturn has not drastically affected general funds provided by the University for these projects, officials said.
Plans for the new "studio arts building have been the only casualty of the budget problems," said Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget.
Earlier in the year, the state froze money that was earmarked to fund the studio arts building. The state also froze funding for the new Special Collections Library, a decision reversed last month.
Frozen funding for the arts building probably was caused more by disagreement in the General Assembly than the recession, Sheehy said.
Last spring, the Virginia General Assembly ended its session without passing a new budget because of gridlock in the Senate and the House of Delegates over the car-tax issue. Gov. James S. Gilmore III froze funding in several areas to allow the state to operate under the previous year's budget.
The amount of funding the state provides for each of the University's capital improvement projects varies.
Several projects such as the expansion of the Aquatic and Fitness Center, the replacement of Observatory Hill Dining Hall and the construction of the new basketball arena "don't get impacted" by the budget problems, Sheehy said.
The state does not contribute any money for dining, athletics or residence halls, she said. A substantial part of the money for capital improvement comes from private donations.
It is "too soon to know how adversely private funding will be affected," Sheehy said.
If the economy becomes worse, University officials might consider downsizing some projects instead of discontinuing or delaying them, she said.
But Benjamin P.A. Warthen, a Board of Visitors Building and Grounds Committee member, said the Board's unanimous position remains to delay projects rather than downsize them.
The University is "building for centuries," Warthen said. "We are not compromising with quality."
"I wouldn't be surprised if delays were encountered. Disappointed, but not surprised," he said.
The Board already has tried to factor in economic problems with the replacement of New Cabell Hall, drawing funding from non-state sources, Warthen added.
Sheehy said the University had already raised $21 million of the about $28 million needed to build the new materials science engineering and nanotechnology building.
If the economic situation continues to decline, the University will come up with more money or will build a smaller building, she said.
Funding already has been allocated for several projects around the University, so those projects should not be affected. Funding has been identified for the new bridge to be built over Emmet Street, and officials are now going forward with plans to build a new parking deck off Ivy Road, Sheehy said.
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