When students sit in Guggenheim Hall’s 345-person state-of-the-art lecture hall, they may not realize that only two years ago the building’s facilities dated back to its construction in the 1930s. Back then, the lecture facility didn’t contain wireless microphones, motorized display screens or mounted cameras.

Other buildings on campus, such as Denny Hall, date back to 1895. Denny and Lewis Hall, both of which were constructed at the turn of the century, were slated to be renovated during the next few years. Their condition is not optimal for students or staff, as the buildings have remained virtually unchanged since their construction.

In 2003, the Restore the Core project began at the UW with the goal of “rehabilitation for the 15 oldest buildings on campus,” said Randy Hodgins, director of state relations for the UW.

However, when the 2009-2011 state budget was approved at the end of April, no funding was allocated to continue the restorations.

“We’re set back another couple of years,” Hodgins said. “We don’t know how long this will be on hold.”

Many of the older buildings on campus have never been updated, said project executive John Palewicz. The original plan was to fix two to three of the existing buildings in each phase. It takes about two years to design the renovations and two years for construction of each building..

Since the project must be approved by the state Legislature, and the budget is approved for a two-year period, the university must now wait until 2011 to see if the state will continue to fund the next phase of construction.

The funding cut stalling the renovations is only directly related to the buildings associated with the Restore the Core project, not new buildings that are being erected on campus, and construction now taking place will all be finished.

“Savery Hall, Clark Hall and the Playhouse Theater have already been funded and will be completed between summer and fall of 2009,” Hodgins said.

There are a number of projects in the design phase, including Denny Hall, Lewis Hall and Balmer Hall, but Restore the Core cannot advance to the next step of construction due the lack of state funding, Palewicz said. The only funding that was allocated was $200,000 for the pre-design of Anderson Hall, which houses the College of Forestry according to the UW’s Planning and Budgeting brief prepared April 24.

Departments are typically transferred to Condon Hall while their buildings undergo construction. The economics department has been in Condon for the past two years while faculty waited in basement offices for Savery to be completed.

“The only way to make it work is having the extra space in Condon Hall,” Palewicz explained.

With the departments normally housed in Savery and Clark moving out of Condon Hall this fall, and no new buildings undergoing renovation, other departments will be free to utilize free space in Condon.Other buildings such as Lewis and Denny will just have to wait before making their temporary transition to Condon.

Until then, “students will continue to take classes in these buildings and soldier on,” Hodgins said. “We will make the best use out of them that we can.”

Reach reporter Karleen Scharer at news@dailyuw.com.