Regents OK $70M renovation for UT tower. Here's how the iconic landmark will be transformed

Just days before the University of Texas Tower’s 87th birthday, the UT System Board of Regents approved adding the iconic landmark’s proposed $70 million renovation project to the system's capital improvement program, with construction expected to begin in January.

UT President Jay Hartzell presented a proposal to officially add the tower's first major restoration and renovation project to the system’s capital improvement program at Wednesday’s regents meeting. The regents in November 2022 approved the project's definition phase, or its initial plan.

“It's such an iconic thing,” Hartzell told the American-Statesman of the UT Tower. “Not only for Texas and UT Austin, but even nationally, it is what people think of as this is what a college campus looks like.”

UT has launched a fundraising campaign to "transform the UT community’s most beloved landmark into a revitalized campus center that reflects our past and anchors our future."

UT's proposed renovation aims to return the tower to its former glory — restoring the clock, cleaning and repairing the stone masonry, and waterproofing the observation deck. But it also will target "interior rehabilitation,” including lobbies, elevators, restrooms and lighting.

Hartzell told regents that the renovation project will include creating spaces that students and alumni can enjoy. The landscaping around the building will be updated and designed to be more welcoming and dynamic, according to the project's description.

The $70 million estimated project cost is expected to be paid with $26 million in collected donations, which are still being raised, plus a matching amount from the system’s Permanent University Fund bond. The remaining $18 million will be covered by the Available University Fund, according to the regents' meeting agenda.

“That $26 million in gifts, you’re going to exceed that because I think that the support for the face of the university has a wide net and you’ll go way beyond,” UT System Regent Jodie Lee Jiles told Hartzell after he presented the proposal.

More than half of the $70 million will be spent on the building itself, and the remainder will be divided between architecture services, site development, project management and contingency, insurance and other related costs.

The tower, otherwise known as The Main Building, was completed in 1937 as a 27-story library ― at the time, it was the largest building in Austin, beating the Texas Capitol by just a few feet.

Hartzell said when the tower first opened, it was so large that "the school didn't have enough books to fill it yet."

“Think about what they were thinking, right? This is a goal to be a university of the first class that doesn't even have a constitution, and they thought we needed a tower,” he said. “I think it speaks to our ambition, I think it speaks for our pride. I think it's something we all share.”

Since then, with its red tile roof, small glowing clock and top that glows burnt orange in times of celebration, the tower has become a symbol for Longhorns and Texans alike — an embodiment of the university’s ambition and spirit, Hartzell said.

“It’s a unifying symbol of campus,” Hartzell added. “It's a really important and fantastic project for us.”

The project's timeline has construction beginning in January and wrapping up by May 2027. The board plans to vote on the tower's design development plan in May, according to the regents' agenda documents.

“I want to thank the chairman and the board for their leadership," Jiles added, "in saying ‘Let's make the face of this institution to the world to be reflective of what we are and who we are.'"

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UT tower to get $70 million renovation. Here are the details.