ST. AUGUSTINE - UF will take another stab at securing funds this year to take care of 34 historic buildings in St. Augustine.
The university is seeking about $32 million from the state and almost $5 million from the National Park Service. About $10 million is pegged for a visitors' center, and $27 million is for restoring the buildings.
Ed Poppell, UF's vice president for Business Affairs, was in St. Augustine on Thursday presenting the plan to officials from the city, the state and the National Park Service, as well as city residents.
Poppell said UF would like to see the buildings preserved for their historic value, so UF students and professors can conduct more research in the area.
The College of Design, Construction and Planning, he said, studies the preservation of historic buildings in St. Augustine. UF's archaeologists study a variety of things in the city as well, he said, and the College of Law uses the city to study historic law.
Poppell said UF is considering converting one or two of the 34 buildings into dorms for graduate students, so they can conduct their research in the city.
UF originally promised to take over the leases from the city, which currently leases them from the state, in July of 2007. The leases would include not only the buildings themselves, but all the historic artifacts, documents and other property.
Last year, the state denied UF's request for $22.5 million in funding, which prevented UF from taking over the leases.
Poppell said UF is not expecting the entire $37 million request this year. That amount would be needed over several years. UF is hoping to get at least $5 million to fund half the construction costs of the proposed visitors' center, he said.
The remaining $5 million for the center is being requested from the National Park Service.
Poppell said in case the state can't afford the project his year, UF and St. Augustine are also requesting the money from the economic stimulus package passed last week, of which Florida is expected to receive about $12 billion.
"This is the oldest city, the first city," he said after the presentation, "and the state's kind of ignored these properties here."
"We feel they have a responsibility to come forward and rehab them, but also (to) get ready for the celebration," he said, referring to the upcoming 500th anniversary of the city's discovery by Europeans in 1513 and the 450th anniversary of its settlement in 1565.
