Lack of Finances Forces Halt To Massive Sever Renovation

A lack of funds is forcing Harvard to postpone an extensive renovation of Sever Hall, although partial renovation to accomodate the Visual and Environmental Studies Department (VES) will be completed in November.

Harvard must wait two to five years for renovation funds for Sever, Richard G. Leahy, assistant dean of the Faculty for Resources and Planning, said yesterday.

Leahy said that Sever qualifies for financial aid under a national program which funds the maintenance of national historical buildings. However, "Congress has authorized the program but has not funded it," he said.

The Faculty recently funded the renovation of Emerson and Robinson Halls. However, it does not have the estimated $1.5 million in funds required to renovate Sever, Leah said.

Leahy added that the Faculty has already spent $200,000 on film equipment, partitions, and the other facilities installed in Sever this summer for VES.

The first, third and fourth floors of Sever now serve as "an annex to the Carpenter Center...an overflow space permitting us to organize in a more effective manner," Robert G. Gardner, acting chairman of the VES Department, said Friday.

"There is less room [than in Hunt Hall], but more effective use of space. I'm happy with the move," Gardner said.

Gardner further explained that the new facilities in Sever Hall will be primarily used for photography and film courses, and for workshop tutorials.

The VES Department plans to use the first floor of the building as a "kind of gallery," Gardner said. "Sever is one of those gateway buildings that people pass through...people will see things."