ATHENS, Ga. — The iconic University of Georgia President's House located along Prince Avenue in Athens will be sold by the University System of Georgia.
The proceeds will be used to help fund student success initiatives at UGA, the university announced Thursday. The decision comes as UGA has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years on maintenance of the historic home.
Built in 1856, the 167-year-old home was built in Athens just over 70 years after the UGA established itself as the first-ever state-chartered university in the country in 1785.
Since 1949, it has served as the official home of the University of Georgia president when it was purchased by the USG -- who allocated those funds to the university. During that time period, over seven university presidents actually lived there.
Despite its storied legacy, UGA has run into a plethora of issues. From aging electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems that can't withstand the necessary standards to host events, to the nearly $2 million HVAC system upgrade estimate the university received, the costs of keeping up weren't worth it.
On top of that, the 9,000-square-foot property resides on about five acres of land, making it even more costly to keep up.
UGA said they plan on dedicating all of the money made on the sale of the home to support student success initiatives at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. They also stated they would use the savings from not having to upgrade the home to improve safety and security on campus.
This is not an unprecedented move by the USG. They sold the USG Chancellor's Atlanta residence in 2006 and sold the Georgia State University and Augusta University president's homes in both 1995 and 2018, respectively.
The last presidential home that remains is on the campus of Georgia Tech, albeit unoccupied.
