The battle is half over.

Eastern learned Friday it would retain its original allocation for Doudna Fine Arts Center construction. However, Gov. Rod Blagojevich must OK the release date of the funds to the university before contracts can be signed for further progress.

Eastern received a $39.7 million allocation for Doudna construction and $3.5 million for planning and design work.

Administrators had believed Blagojevich would decide on the bill Tuesday afternoon, but the favorable decision came Friday afternoon.

The university had been asked to devise a construction plan for Doudna that would have not included expansion and remodeling.

Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs, said the renovation proposal totaled $18 million.

The main portion of that figure resulted from the restructuring of walls that were torn down during asbestos removal last winter and heating and water pipes that were not used last year, he said.

“Well, what we were looking at is what would it take to put Eastern back on the map to cover the needs of that building?” Cooley asked. “The asbestos abatement was designed such that we’re going to tear it down, so they were really more wreckless than perhaps they would have been.”

If Blagojevich were to allocate Eastern the money today, actual construction would not begin until November because of the time it would take for construction bids to come in. The construction would then take 30 months for completion.

Already, the Doudna project is more than a year behind the original completion date of fall of 2006. Cooley said the university loses $100,000 a month in value because of inflation.

Many of Doudna’s cosmetic features, or the “glitz and glamour,” as Cooley puts it, have been slashed. Cooley believes more practical items, such as cabinets or storage space, might have to be replaced if the money is not allocated soon.

But retaining the more than $42 million was a minor success.

Becky Carroll, spokesperson for the Governor’s office of management and budget, said the bill assessed “hundreds” of capital projects. More than half of the $900 million allocated for capital projects – almost $556 million – was slashed.

Eastern received no adjustment for inflation, Carroll said.

“There were many projects that are far along in the process and make good economic sense,” Carroll said. “And the governor signed off on them, but some projects are good projects and the state can’t afford and governor had no option but to veto them.”

Administration editor Tim Martin can be reached at [email protected]