Aided by a recent $3.5 million gift from an anonymous donor, the Music Building should soon receive some much-needed renovations.
Administrators say they anticipate that the Music Building renovations -- along with improvements to the nearby Bennett Hall -- will be completed within three years.
Plans for fixing up both the aging Music Building and Bennett Hall -- both located on 34th Street between Walnut and Spruce streets -- have been in the works for over five years, but progress has been stymied due to lack of funding.
However, administrators now say the $3.5 million gift coupled with another $3.5 million in funds from the University and the School of Arts and Sciences will allow work on the Music Building to go forward.
"This is what we were really after to be sure we could go ahead with the reconstruction," School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston said.
Meanwhile, fundraising for improvements to Bennett Hall continues. Although only about half of the projected $15 million necessary for completion has been raised, according to Preston, work on both buildings could begin as early as summer or fall 2004.
Renovations to the facilities were a major component to the School of Arts and Sciences' Agenda for Excellence released in 1995, but have struggled to get off the ground, due in part to the school's lack of donors. Fundraising efforts are expected to continue as the joint project gets underway.
A feasibility study conducted in 2000 considered transplanting the Music Department into Bennett Hall, but administrators now say they are re-evaluating those proposals. A part of Bennett Hall may still be used for rehearsal, performance and classroom space by the Music Department, Music Department Chairman Gary Tomlinson said.
As another feasibility study is being conducted to look at the prospect of utilizing the fourth floor of Bennett Hall for rehearsal and performance space, several steps remain before the work can begin, including design plans and finding a way to relocate faculty and classrooms during the renovations.
Though final plans have not yet been arranged, administrators said they are looking at buildings on Market Street to serve as a "swing space" during the construction.
Bennett Hall and the Music Building, built in 1925 and 1892 respectively, have been the source of many complaints from students and faculty for decades. Lack of sound insulation, technology support and heating and ventilation problems have plagued the buildings for years.
Renovations intended to address these issues include new performance and rehearsal spaces, stepped up wiring for technology and significant infrastructural improvements, according to Preston. Work on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as better insulation for windows from noise is also planned.
Preston said he hoped the physical improvements would boost morale in both departments.
"Everybody in the Music Department has been working for years on that, and it's delightful to come to see it pass," Tomlinson said, noting Preston's dedication to the renovations.
"These are two buildings desperately in need of renovations... Huntsman Hall they will not be, but to see them renovated finally will be a great thing."
