[ Golden Gater Online - December 16, 1997 ]
Bernadette Smith
Staff writer
When it first opened in 1969, the psychedelic-striped carpets of Verducci Hall may have given students headaches. But now, after sitting dormant for six years, the quake-damaged dormitory is giving university administrators headaches.
Verducci Hall was closed after building engineers deemed it unsafe for occupancy as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Students were allowed to move back into the building, but it was closed for repairs in 1991. Administrators initially told students the building would only be closed for a year, but it has been vacant ever since.
Since the dormitory was damaged as a result of the earthquake, the university has sought funds from the Federal Emergency Management Authority, a federal agency which provides emergency disaster funds. For eight years, the government and SF State have fought over the cost of repairing Verducci Hall, with offers ranging from the original $58,780 for epoxy ejections in damaged walls in 1989, to $10 million for the injections plus the construction of three floors of structural reinforcement in 1996.
During the lengthy appeals process, the university has turned down every offer from FEMA and instead has asked for, in its third and final appeal, a $13.7 million upgrade they believe to be the safest option. The appeal also requests that if FEMA, should they reject SF State's offer, to allow the university to apply the already-offered $10 million toward the construction of a new dormitory.
FEMA, however, believes that the university is asking for the additional $3.7 million in order to comply with California code requirements, which is not FEMA's responsibility.
Some people cite the reason for the delay in reopening the building to be indecision on the part of university officials as to what they want to do with it.
"The university must either invest its own funds and choose the replacement or renovation to satisfy the needs of the campus based on the funding commitments already pledged by the state," said Sen. Quentin Kopp in a letter to SF State President Robert Corrigan.
"I have long since lost patience with the university's indecision," said Kopp who earlier this semester staged a rally in front of Verducci Hall.
With a shortage of available housing in the city, Verducci Hall has come to the forefront of student needs, said Roma Guy, director of the Bay Area Homelessness Program.
"It is important the university make a decision on how they are going to deal with the housing issue," said Guy. "Whether they reopen Verducci or build a new one, they need to involve the students in the decision."
Reopening Verducci Hall has several underlying costs beyond the $13.7 million requested for retrofitting.
"It's in new students' best interest to build a new structure," said Robert Quinn, vice president of physical planning and development.
"Repairing Verducci doesn't make any sense. It's a 30-year-old building that has sat vacant for five years, it's in atrophy.". He added that to replace the plumbing and wiring would cost $2 million to $4 million but pointed out that there hasn't been an official audit to determine the cost.
Jeff Goldblatt, from Students for Safe and Stable Homes, has been researching Verducci Hall for the past six months. The lack of an audit leads him "to suspect that the university never intended on re-opening the building."
"We pushed all along to repair Verducci. The longer the battle went on, the older the building got and the more we pushed for new, reliable construction," responded Quinn.
The lost revenue from the building from August 1991 to November 1996 was $14,615,887. In addition, the university spent $286,000 in consulting engineering fees and $68,987 in attorney fees, according to a 1996 memo.
The university still owes $2 million in bond debt on Verducci Hall. "The money paid toward this comes off the top of SF State's operating budget," said Quinn.
This essentially means that revenue generated from the existing on-campus housing goes toward the payment of a building no longer in use.
The 735-bed, 15-story building offers views of Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean, on the west side of the building. Built on the same foundation but with a new design, a new building would house about the same number of people, according to Quinn.
FEMA has sixty days to respond to the final appeal, and they can do anything from accepting the $13.7 million offer or rescind any offer altogether. Should that happen, the university plans to work with a private developer to build a new facility, according to Quinn.
In addition to housing students, a new building would be open to junior faculty members having difficulty locating housing, according to Quinn.
"Vice President Quinn has promised that he would hold an open forum on the future of Verducci Hall and student housing early next semester," said Goldblatt. "I think it's important the entire university community come to a consensus on this important issue."
[ Golden Gater - December 16, 1997 ]