Sullivan's costly home

The president’s residence has been a work in progress, but now the cost for repairs is rising.

The improvements to the Englesby House are projected to amount to $1.325 million, officials stated. The project was originally quoted at $875,000.

Richard Cate, vice president for finance and administration and University treasurer, cited handicapped access improvements as well as code and safety issues as the primary reasons for the added costs.

“We need to make what we believe to be essential, and in many cases life-safety, improvements that will put the project ... over the original $875,000 budget,” Cate stated in an Aug. 10 memorandum to the Board of Trustees.

According to the memo, the extra $450,000 will come from private gift funds.

Cate said the additional repairs didn’t come as much of a surprise since the house was built almost a century ago.

“Any time you start working on a 100-year-old house, you expect costs,” he said, noting that the project won’t exceed the original estimate of $1.4 million.

Cate said his initial proposal included almost $700,000 to fix drainage issues in the basement, but the Board opted against that provision in the interest of minimizing expenses.

“However, anything that might be adversely affected by water has been removed and the new boilers are elevated,” Cate stated in an email.

Despite the added work, Cate said he expects the house to be ready for President Sullivan and his wife Leslie to move into sometime in November.