The future seemed sturdy for 34 historic sites in St. Augustine that needed renovation after UF announced plans to take the buildings under its wing July 2007.
However, with the state's shrinking budget, UF hasn't been able to fulfill that offer and probably won't be able to anytime soon.
"The price tag to take care of these buildings is sort of daunting," said Catherine Culver, marketing and events coordinator for St. Augustine's Department of Heritage Tourism.
During the most recent session of the Florida Legislature, UF requested $22.5 million in state funds to tackle deferred maintenance work on the historic sites, according to a July 2007 report on the sites prepared by UF.
UF also requested $500,000 to create a master plan of historic St. Augustine. The plan would identify significant sites and the original town plan, according to the report. It would also devise traffic, pedestrian and parking solutions for tourists.
The state granted the university $300,000 toward the strategic plan but gave no money toward maintenance work, said Linda Dixon, UF's assistant director of facilities planning and construction.
Culver said the buildings, which include restorations and original structures, are currently under the City of St. Augustine's care.
However, the city is strapped for cash and has been unable to keep up with the sites' maintenance, she said.
Because UF didn't receive enough state money, it didn't take over management of the buildings in July as planned, Dixon said.
"It's going to have to wait until we find out if the Legislature is going to provide some money for the maintenance and repair of those facilities," Dixon said.
Three of the 34 sites in St. Augustine, which is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the U.S., require repairs of more than $1 million each, according to the report.
The sites include the Spanish Military Hospital, a blacksmith shop and the Government House, which is a colonial structure that sits in the center of historic downtown.
The Government House was last preserved in 1935 and is corroding and crumbling. It needs repairs of more than $14 million, Culver said.
So much in fact that a 20-pound chunk fell off the coquina and concrete building into the courtyard during a "little old lady's 80th birthday party," Culver said.
"Things like that happen around this building," she said.
Management of the buildings was transferred to St. Augustine from the state in 1997 when the state's preservation program, the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, was eliminated, according to "Preserving the Ancient City Through the Ages," a document written by William R. Adams about the history of preservation in St. Augustine. Adams is the director of the City of St. Augustine's Department of Heritage Tourism.
Since then, the city has been responsible for maintaining the properties under a lease from the Florida State Department. But because it doesn't have enough money for the repairs, Culver said the city has had to let some maintenance slip to the wayside.
"The monumental maintenance that comes with maintaining historic properties has become an (insurmountable) obstacle for the city," she said.
So when the city's lease on the properties came to an end on June 30, the plan was to transfer management responsibilities to UF.
State legislation passed in 2007 that authorized the transfer of the state-owned properties to UF.
That didn't happen when UF did not get the funds it required, forcing the state to extend its lease to the city for another year, Culver said.
Reasons behind the transfer are financial and educational, she said, adding that UF has greater fundraising capabilities than the city.
"The areas of study that could be applied and used in St. Augustine open the door to so many grants and fund-raising opportunities," Culver said.
It also has an educational benefit for UF students, who could use the city as a living lab, she said.
The sites hold promise for students of historic preservation, archaeology, cultural resource management, cultural tourism and museum administration, according to UF's facilities planning and construction Web site.
UF's preservation program has been using the nearby historic buildings in St. Augustine for at least five years, said Roy Eugene Graham, director of UF's Historic Preservation Studies program.
Graham said he has taught courses in St. Augustine and plans to lecture more there this semester.
"We've already started utilizing the facilities, but of course, the university isn't going to take responsibility of the facilities until there is funding," Graham said.
UF has had links to the city for almost 75 years, Culver said. That relationship has escalated since UF announced that it wanted to manage the buildings, she said.
With the completion of the plan funded by the state Legislature, UF hopes to secure more revenue in the future, Dixon said.
The plan will be used to show what can be done to renovate the sites. Reynolds, Smith and Hills, a facilities consulting firm based out of Jacksonville, has been working on the plan for about three months, Dixon said.
The plan is due to the Legislature by Feb. 1, she said.
"The train hasn't left the station yet," Dixon said.
GALLERY: Tour some of the sites in historic St. Augustine.
People walk past the Benet House, now Tedi's Olde Tyme Ice Cream, in downtown St. Augustine on a Tuesday afternoon in September 2008.
