WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A $5-million gift to build a new home for the University of Rhode Island’s department of communications and media has yet to break ground.
J. Vernon Wyman, the university’s assistant vice president for business services, calls it it the longest period for a project.
The 2009 gift from Richard J. Harrington, a businessman and URI graduate, and his wife, Jean, was intended to facilitate renovation or construction.
The Providence Journal reports that URI says logistical hurdles and fundraising challenges delayed plans to renovate Ranger Hall to house the Harrington School. The status of the $5 million donation remains unclear.
URI officials say they’re planning to use $1 million of the Harringtons’ gift and are close to raising the final $750,000 in donations to begin the first phase of the $6.2-million project.
