$26 million investment to start off UT Tower renovations
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas System Board of Regents is investing $26 million into restoring and renovating the University of Texas at Austin's Tower.
KXAN first heard about the project during UT Austin President Jay Hartzell's annual State of The University Address last month. It will be the first time the Tower is upgraded in 85 years.
The money from the Board of Regents will also go toward landscaping for other areas of UT's campus, like the Main Mall and surrounding grounds.
“The Tower stands on the very spot where our first learning community gathered, and it endures as a beacon for truth-seekers, academic excellence and achievement,” Hartzell said in a statement Wednesday. “I am grateful to Chairman Eltife and the regents for their incredibly generous support. Their investment will enhance and preserve the Tower’s legacy and ensure that it shines even brighter for generations to come.”
The university will reveal an announcement about the Tower restoration project at the Longhorns' home football game on Nov. 12.
According to UT, the Tower stands at 307 feet tall and was completed in 1937. It was designed by a French architect who was living in Philadelphia at the time.