HBCUs Receive Historic Preservation Grants Totaling $14.25 million to Repair Buildings

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday that 20 of the 106 HBCUs would receive funds made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide assistance in the repair of historic building on their campuses.

 “The recovery funds not only will restore historic buildings on these campuses but also will provide a boost to individuals and companies performing the repairs, college communities and related local economies,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today.

A 1998 GAO survey found that it would cost an estimated $755 million to restore 712 properties, mostly buildings, which have been identified by the nation's HBCUs as historic properties. This estimate includes various capital improvement costs, such as making the properties more accessible to persons with disabilities, replacing roofs, and removing lead-based paint or asbestos.

At the time, only $60 million, 8%, had been set aside by the colleges and universities to address the needed restoration projects.

The National Park Service invited all HBCUs to submit grant applications for grants to repair and preserve historic buildings on their campuses. The buildings selected for this apportionment of grant funds were assessed as being the most architecturally and historically significant buildings on these HBCU campuses, and as needing essential repairs to preserve them and make them useable.

The repairs will address issues such as termite and wood rot damage, leaking roofs and water damage, asbestos and lead paint removal, masonry work, electrical rewiring, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems and achieving accessibility for disabled persons.

Schools receiving grants and amount awarded
1. Alcorn State University — $400,000
2. Allen University– $1,000,000
3. Bennett College– $400,000
4. Central State University — $1,750,000
5. Cheyney University — $300,000
6. Clark Atlanta University — $ 400,000
7. Dillard University — $800,000
8. Elizabeth City State University — $500,000
9. Fisk University — $989,516
10. Florida A&M University — $700,000
11. Harris Stowe State University — $1,000,000
12. Howard University — $800,000
13. Kentucky State University — $1,000,000
14. Langston University — $500,000
15. Meharry Medical College — $1,000,000
16. St. Paul’s College — $349,706/$245,000
17. Talladega College — $700,000
18. Tougaloo College — $829,007
19. West Virginia State University — $123,570
20. Xavier University — $463,201