Roof rentals to raise big bucks for U.

The rooftops of many University buildings will soon become prime real estate, as a part of an ongoing effort to increase University revenues. Facilities Management Vice President Art Gravina recently developed a plan to rent campus rooftops to telecommunication firms in need of space for their satellite dishes. The plan is a part of the continued efforts to restructure the University administration that Executive Vice President John Fry discussed at last week's University Council meeting. He hopes to decrease the University's expenditures by $50 million over the next five years, while increasing revenues by $10 million during the same time period. And according to Fry, much of this added income will come from innovative changes like renting rooftops as real estate, developing retail space on University-owned land and utilizing the otherwise-underused resources of the Faculty Club, a change that took place last fall. "This is a huge place, and there are lots of opportunities to generate income," he said. "Our goal is to manage our existing assets better, but also to maximize their productivity." Gravina explained that campus rooftops are not presently being used. But he said if they are marketed properly, rooftop real estate could bring the University $400,000 to $500,000 in annual revenues. "One of the things that we have here is significant roof space," he said. Gravina added that the University, with assistance from Apex Site Management, a real-estate management company, will lease the roofs to their full potential within three to five years. Apex will market the space to interested telecommunications firms, who will use the rooftops as relay points for their beeper and cellular phone customers. The management company will also handle the construction, security and safety issues involved with the new venture, thus minimizing the problems that the University may encounter in the future. "The nice thing about it is that there isn't any risk," Gravina said. While he said he did not know yet which buildings will be used for the three-foot-wide satellite dishes, Gravina added that Apex is presently taking inventory of the campus' buildings and will soon decide which ones suit their needs. In addition, Fry said developing retail space around campus will also increase the productivity of the University's resources. "We have a number of properties that, if we develop, can bring additional life to the campus and can bring us additional dollars," he said. Vice President of Business Services Steven Murray had a similar goal in mind when he decided to move Hillel's evening dining to the Faculty Club. "[Hillel] had outgrown their existing facility," he said. "And the cafeteria on the second floor [of the Faculty Club] was not being used at all at night time." Murray said the change "provides a revenue stream back to the faculty club and makes better use of its employees."