New Uconn President Living In Private Home University Is Fixing Up

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New Uconn President Living In Private Home University Is Fixing Up

Hartford Courant*

By GRACE E. MERRITT

Courant Staff Writer

May 30, 2008

http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-

house0530.artmay30,0,7512684.story

STORRS — - The University of Connecticut has been paying tens of

thousands of dollars to rent and fix up a five-bedroom house near

campus for new UConn President Hogan despite spending more

than $1 million to renovate the official president's house up the

street three years ago.

Hogan declined to move to the president's house on Oak Hill Road

because his wife, Virginia, had a severe allergic reaction to mold

and mildew there, UConn spokeswoman Grava said Thursday.

Since October, the university has spent $4,000 a month, or $32,000

to date, to rent the 10-room home at 88 Gurleyville Road, and

thousands more to clean, paint and generally fix it up as an office

and home for the Hogans.

And now the UConn Foundation, the university's fundraising arm, is

trying to raise money to buy the house and do even more renovations

to turn it into the permanent presidential residence for the couple,

whose children are grown.

The house was previously at the center of controversy when UConn

agreed to lease the 5-acre site to former Provost D. sen

so he could build the Southern Colonial-style house there in 2001.

Faculty at the time grumbled that the sen arrangement was

overly generous. When sen resigned in 2004, he left the

university in a quandary because it had an expensive private house

on university land.

Longtime UConn benefactor Philip Lodewick and his wife, ,

stepped in and bailed out the university.

They bought the house in 2004 for $835,000 and paid UConn another

$90,000 for the land. Their friends have lived in the house for the

past three years.

Lodewick initially rented the house to the university under a

yearlong lease, starting in October.

The Hogans needed a place to stay when Hogan took office in August

because former UConn President Philip E. Austin had not moved out of

the president's mansion.

Austin had asked to remain in the mansion until work on his West

Hartford condominium was complete, Grava said. Austin moved out in

November, Grava said.

Under the lease for the house, UConn took control of the

premises " as is, " " which meant that the university was responsible

for cleanup, painting and repairs, " Grava said.

UConn paid for the repairs, and paid the rent, with money from the

university's budget, Grava said.

Grava said the Hogans discovered that the sen house functions

well as a place to welcome and entertain alumni and donors.

After consulting with the board of trustees and leaders at the

privateUConn Foundation, the foundation began to raise money from

donors to buy and renovate the house as the university's

presidential residence.

Grava said she did not know the price of the sen house, nor the

estimated cost of planned renovations.

Foundation officials could not be reached for comment.

The university now plans to use the president's house for meetings,

lectures and other activities, but does not plan to remove the mold

and mildew, Grava said.

The university completed a $1 million renovation and expansion of

the president's house in 2004, complete with a new kitchen with

granite countertops, a family room with a cathedral ceiling, a

whirlpool bath and nearly $30,000 in custom furniture.

The initial budget for the project was $300,000, but change orders,

including mold removal, inflated the cost.

Contact Grace E. Merritt at gmerritt@....