University officials are raising $15.3 million in private donations to restore three of MSU's oldest buildings while also creating a garden connecting the historical structures on West Circle Drive.
Cook, Old Botany and Chittenden halls, located on the northeast part of campus, are three of the six buildings in laboratory row - an area with buildings dating back to 1888.
Janet Kreger, director of major and planned gifts in MSU's Office of Development, said the fund-raising effort, or the Campus Heritage Intiative, is part of the five-year, $1.2 billion capital campaign. Kreger added that the historical significance of the buildings make the renovations worth the effort.
"You can have a sense of what our campus was like in the early 20th century," she said. "It's hard to capture that when it's just a free-standing building here and there.
"If everything were new, you would lack the vibrancy of difference."
Kreger said funds have already been raised to restore the other three buildings on laboratory row, Agriculture, Eustace-Cole and Marshall halls.
Kreger added that before the capital campaign was announced to the public, Jeffrey Cole, a retiree from Detroit, donated $3 million to renovate Eustace-Cole Hall.
"It was because of Jeffrey that it was clear we could make laboratory row renovations and make it work," Kreger said. "He saw the values of these buildings, as did (MSU President M. Peter) McPherson."
Kreger said MSU Trustee Randall Pittman made a substantial donation of $6 million toward the restoration effort of Marshall Hall.
University Engineer Bob Nestle said the difficulty in renovating the buildings on laboratory row is finding a balance between preserving the historical aspects while meeting future needs.
"When Pittman donated money for Marshall, that started planning for renovations for it," Nestle said. "That, in turn, started a plan to see if (the Department of) Economics could be housed in both Marshall and Old Botany.
"We were looking at what their needs would be for the next 10 years."
Kreger said Agriculture and Eustace-Cole halls have been restored and renovations on Marshall Hall begin sometime this fall.
Nestle said destroying the structures for newer buildings was never an option.
"If the object was just to build square footage, you could build a new one for cheaper," Nestle said. "It would be a different place on north campus without those buildings."
Staff writer Evan Rondeau contributed to this report.
