In summer 1997, led by Knox Heritage Director Kim Trent, local preservationists questioned the university’s decision to raze Turner House for the construction of the Burchfiel Geography Building. Chancellor Bill Snyder explained that the new facility needed to be in the Hill area in proximity to the cluster of science and engineering buildings and with access to the high-speed data network that served the Hill. He also indicated that bringing Turner House up to current building and access codes would have been prohibitively expensive and would have resulted in a facility that could not respond to a major need of the institution. Trent cited the need to preserve the architectural history of the campus and to preserve the sense of place and tone that provides a snapshot of a historic period. Trent and others interested in speaking on the issue were also critical of the change by the State Building Commission of the meeting date at which the issue would be presented.