A $70 million effort to restore the exterior of the Main Tower will start in November and is expected to last three years, President Jay Hartzell announced in an email on Oct. 4.
The restoration project will address the building’s exterior. These include the Tower’s stone, windows, lighting, clock and facade, Hartzell said in the email. During its initial phase, the restoration effort will focus on the north side of the building. Construction will begin on the south side after the 2025 commencement ceremony.
Justin Dothard, a project manager for Campus Operations, said the restoration effort will return the building’s exterior to its original 1937 appearance. He said since its completion, the Tower has received gradual repairs, but no major renovations.
“This is a main building of a campus and main buildings tend to become icons for that institution,” Dothard said. “If you have the face of your institution as a building, then that face is projecting something about (it) and you can decide whether that projects something that is good or suboptimal.”
The exterior renovation is expected to be completed by the summer of 2027, according to Hartzell’s email.
During the restoration, Dothard said administration parking closest to the Tower will be affected. He said parking near the Turtle Pond, located near the north side of the Tower, will still be available.
The west entrance of the Tower will remain open throughout the project, Dothard said. Signage will be installed to direct people on how to get inside the building and there will be entrance coverings in case scaffolding materials fall off, he said.
In his email, Hartzell advised students graduating in 2026 and 2027 to take their graduationphotos before scaffolding and scrim cover the building.
UT design senior Abigail Dewhirst took her graduation photos in September because she knew restoration would begin this year. Although she is glad she took her photos early, Dewhirst said it can be inconvenient for future graduating classes to take them now.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I was graduating in (the class of) ‘26 or ‘27,” Dewhirst said. “Grad photos are a culmination of your education and it would feel a little weird for me to take my grad photos two years before I’m graduating because it wouldn’t feel as celebratory.”
University spokesperson Mike Rosen said in an email the University is raising money for the interior restoration effort. Dothard said he had no insight on when that would begin, but the team feels confident they will meet the 2027 deadline.
“We have had input from a general contractor about how much money and time would be necessary to achieve our objectives,” Dothard said. “That isn’t to say that there aren’t unforeseen circumstances … but we feel that we’ve gotten good advice. We’ve put in place some cushion to ensure that, should there be some extenuating circumstances, that we will still meet the deadline that we’ve quoted to the public.”
