Diane Heldt, CR Gazette –
IOWA CITY — University of Iowa officials on Tuesday received word of the official obligation of more than $6.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the demolition of three flood-damaged campus buildings.
The new obligation is money UI officials had expected from FEMA, but the obligation is the final step in the formal commitment of these funds.
The newly-obligated funds will be used in the demolition of Hancher Auditorium, Voxman Music Building and the Studio Arts complex, save for one portion of the Grant Wood studio there that was deemed historic and will be preserved, UI Spokesman Tom Moore said.
Of the $6.7 million obligation, nearly $5 million will go toward the Hancher and Voxman demolition, and $1.7 million will be used for the Studio Arts demolition. Work on those projects is expected to start this summer or fall, UI officials have said.
The UI already has received its total obligation from FEMA for the replacement of those buildings. FEMA treats demolition as a separate project, and therefore obligates money through a process separate from the replacement obligation, Moore said.
FEMA awards the money through the Iowa Homeland Security Office. UI damage and recovery costs from the June 2008 flood could total about $1 billion.
UI to make three more appeals to FEMA
