The University’s deferred maintenance backlog has grown exponentially in recent years. One of the ways the University has dealt with the problem is focusing efforts on renovating buildings in need. The Comprehensive and Strategic Campus Master Plan will continue this strategy.
Currently, the University faces a total deferred maintenance cost of $718 million, a fraction of the overall $1.7 billion in costs for the LSU System. Roger Husser, assistant vice president of planning, design and construction, says the University is unable to invest in deferred maintenance to reduce the costs.
“If there was funding to do routine maintenance, we wouldn’t have deferred maintenance.” Husser said. “We’ve been reliant on the State Capital Outlay budget to provide deferred maintenance funding to address those issues, and we haven’t received a new pinning since 2008.”
Executive Director of Facility Services Dave Maharrey said the maintenance budget has been consistent over the past few years.
“We operate at $3.77 per square foot. In 2008, it was $3.78,” Maharrey said.
One of the ways the University addresses the maintenance backlog is by remodeling buildings in need. For example, the renovation of Patrick F. Taylor Hall reduced deferred maintenance costs, an added benefit of the project. Many of the renovations are program-driven, Husser said, but the renovations are also benefiting the University by reducing maintenance costs.
In the future, the Master Plan will continue to fix deferred maintenance problems. Research from the Master Plan shows that much of the deferred maintenance is needed in the facility services buildings and older buildings in South Campus. The Master Plan calls for these buildings to be demolished and replaced with the proposed new library and other academic class spaces.
The next step in the Master Plan process is prioritization, which means the Strategic Capital Plan will show how capital outlay will be spent. One of those priorities is renovation of the buildings on campus.
“The Strategic Capital Plan will tell us exactly where the priorities are and where we need to invest over the next 10 to 15 years.” Husser said. “A big part of that plan should be to renovate our existing buildings on campus, which lowers that deferred maintenance cost.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Jordan Marcell

Construction equiptment sits outside of Patrick F. Taylor Hall on Sept. 9, 2016, as the operations continue on.