McDavis couple to move into $1.2 million home

President Roderick McDavis and First Lady Deborah McDavis are set to move into their new house on 31 Coventry Lane, which will cost the university $1.2 million.Ohio University publication Compass released a statement announcing the Ohio University Foundation’s agreement with an undisclosed leasing company Thursday evening. The statement said if the Foundation Board of Trustees agrees to the agreement, the $1.2 million will come from “unrestricted working capital.”According to a Q&A statement, the new house sits on 2.86 acres of land, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms and is 4,586 square feet with two floors, an outdoor pool and a finished basement. The house is 1.5 miles southeast of the Convocation Center. The Athens County Auditor’s website lists the total appraised value of both the land and building as $581,690.“...the decision to relocate the President and First Lady is not about a temporary fix to a current situation, but rather an investment that provides the University and the Foundation with a number of very interesting possibilities and opportunities for the future development of the campus and our goal for increased donor and alumni development activities on campus,” current Trustee Chairman David Brightbill said in the original statement.This comes after the McDavis’ were forced out of the President’s Residence on 29 Park Place because of a bat infestation in February and have been living in the Ohio University Inn ever since. Roderick said during a media event last Friday that Deborah broke two bones in her foot after being scared by a bat and falling down the stairs, with one of the bones needing surgery to be repaired.When it comes to 29 Park Place, it will undergo “assessment for both environmental remediation and necessary structural repairs” before any decisions are made on whether the McDavises will move back into it or if it will have another purpose in the future. The auditor’s website lists the house and its land with having an appraised value of $931,120.“If there is a determination by the Campus Master Planning process that there is a higher and better use for that house, then we will have to made a determination as to whether or not after repairs we actually make the house usable for another purpose,” Stephen Golding, Vice President of Finance and Administration, said during the media event. “Because we only want to spend the money once.”“It’s a beautiful home, but it’s old,” Roderick said during the media event. “There’s some repairs that are desperately needed.”The President’s Residence, which was built in 1889, has housed the families of all the OU presidents since President John Calhoun Baker and his wife Elizabeth Evans Baker moved into the house in 1955, according to OU’s website. When the McDavises move, there will no longer be any presidents of public universities in Ohio who live on their respective campuses.