A $30 million nod from state lawmakers could jump-start repeatedly delayed plans to build a new Utah Museum of Natural History on the foothills above Research Park.
Administrators at the U's Museum of Natural History are asking the Utah State Legislature to come up with $30 million to pay for a portion of the estimated $98 million needed to build the museum. Construction on the project was scheduled to begin in 2003 but has been pushed back several times.
The request for state funding comes as the estimated cost of the building jumped considerably. Last spring, the museum estimated that the building would cost about $70 million.
Sarah George, executive director of the museum, said the increase is primarily the result of "rising construction costs." She said the estimate is also higher now because the original $70 million estimate only included costs for the building. The museum had planned on raising the money needed for landscaping and exhibits as part of a second fundraising campaign, beginning after ground was broke on the building, George said.
However, a cost breakdown provided by U Campus Design and Construction shows that landscaping and exhibits makeup $27 million of the current cost estimate, accounting for the majority of the increase.
Even though George is trying to raise all the money at once, she said construction on the building can begin after the $70 million needed for the building is raised.
So, why change combine the two fundraising campaigns? George said it's mostly "semantics."
"It gives people the whole picture," she said.
She said presenting the building's total costs to donors at once will help fundraising efforts. The museum has already raised about $41 million from private donors and the federal government.
The new building will be almost twice the size of the museum's current location in Presidents' Circle, providing the space needed to display more of its massive collection of artifacts.
Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, said he is impressed with the amount of money the museum has been able to raise but suspects costs would have been lower if construction began several years ago.
"I wish it had been done (earlier), we all do," Bell said. "It would have been a lot cheaper."
George said construction was delayed because the museum conducted a full environmental impact study to determine the impact the building would have on the foothills. The building site is adjacent to Red Butte Gardens on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, a popular destination for trail users.
"If things had started at an earlier date, it would cost less, but we chose to do the full blown study, because we thought it was important," she said.
George said rising costs have prompted the museum to cut down the size of the new building.
Bell has seen several presentations about the new building that looks "very impressive," he said.
"It seems like we need to do it," he said.
Others are more skeptical. Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, said although she hasn't heard much about the new building, she is wary of the building's location.
"I don't want to encroach on the foothills," she said.
d.gardiner@chronicle.utah.edu
