Having inhabited the Engineering Units both as a student and an employee since 1990, I know all too well their physical condition. However, to lay the blame of their demolition solely on the cost of renovation or reuse is misleading at best.

Only two of the five Units are being demolished. Are we to assume that Units A, B and C were susceptible to some miraculous balm that D and E were not? After all, doesn't the recent McAllister Building renovation show that the university is not adverse to extensive renovation projects?

The fact is that the university wanted/needed additional parking for the Hintz Family Alumni Center, and Units D and E were the solution. Their state of disrepair was the justification.

As for the state of disrepair, the university has no one to blame but itself. The Engineering Units were victims of systematic neglect. In my 15 years in the buildings, the only honest attempts at upkeep from the university was some tar on the roofs and new bathroom fixtures.

The "fact" that the units were technologically obsolete is a complete myth. Anyone who used the wireless connections or saw the output from the Immersive Environments Lab could nullify that "fact" as well as the College of Engineering, who continue to maintain labs in the remaining Units.

Time will tell if the university decides to be better stewards of Units A, B and C.