Well if the work involved in making a hideout takes too much time for the levels team and prevents them from working on more important parts of the server, then we could always get ex-staff or players who know how to level. Personally I have been the levels team administrator on two private playerworlds and I'm available most of the time. I'm sure there would be ex-gfx staff or players that would be able to supply graphics.
Would the hideouts have to match the new tileset or would they be able to make their own or recolour a current one?