A $200 million 'community.' Check out the new UK Student Center.

What can you buy for $200 million?

Well, when it comes to the renovated University of Kentucky Student Center, just about anything and everything, from a three-story atrium that mimics the falling water and limestone gorges of Raven Run to rooftop gardens, fire pits and high-tech meeting rooms.

And just in case you forget where you are, UK logos and wildcat paws are emblazoned on walls and elevators floors and even on your morning waffles in the new state of the art cafeteria.

When it opens Monday, the 378,000 square-foot behemoth will push UK ahead in the higher education facilities arms race to attract new students and please the current ones.

"We want prospective students to say 'Wow, I have to be part of this university,' " said student center director John Herbst, who has overseen every phase of the more than decade long process. "But the real point of the student center is in really building community. We want everyone to feel embraced."

The previous UK student center was built in 1938, then expanded in 1963 and 1982, but had still become too small for its various functions. Construction got a kick start in 2015, a year after trustee and donor Bill Gatton announced a $20 million gift, at that time the largest in UK's history. The building was also funded from bonds that will be paid back by the university, a portion of student fees, and private fund raising.

The architects — Perkins + Will of Atlanta and Omni Architects of Lexington — visited Raven Run to get an idea of Kentucky's natural spaces before beginning their design. "Students wanted outdoor and indoor spaces to be seamless," Herbst said.

That led to the building's centerpiece, the Social Staircase, a cascade of reclaimed wood stairs inset with the words of UK's fight song, all cascading down to glass doors that lead to a set of terraced green spaces that used to be known as the free speech area. The stairs are overseen by a reclining bronze statue of Bowman the wildcat, one paw drooping artistically over the riser.

The building also features two visually arresting towers, encased in zinc tiles throughout the building. The tower closest to Administration Drive will house a 564-seat cinema with Dolby surround sound; the one that faces Avenue of Champions will be the Blue Box Theater, a black box theater for assorted performances.

The building holds more practical spaces as well: meeting and conference rooms, a grand ballroom that can be partitioned into three different rooms, a new visitors center, the Martin Luther King Center, student government and numerous student clubs.

Along Avenue of Champions is a two-story UK Bookstore, partnered with Barnes and Noble, along with a full service Starbucks and an Apple Store (computer help only, not phones).

On Friday, Paul Maloney, vice president of stores for Barnes and Noble, was finishing up last minute details over some coffee.

"This is a state of the art student center," he said. "At this point, it is second to none in the country."

Entering next to the bookstore, visitors are greeted with audio clips from UK musicians and a projected set of cats paws leading into the building, next to a gas fireplace. The Fireside Lounge is one of numerous seating areas, but in this one, the ottomans are designed to look like river stones.

There's also dining for the north side of campus in Champions Kitchen, although practical is not the word for a cafeteria that makes handmade tortillas, custom salads and the aforementioned emblazoned waffles.

The project will attempt to get LEED silver status for its environmental properties, including an underground water tank that will collect all rain water from the roof that can be used as irrigation for numerous landscaped areas.

Messer Construction led the work, which will continue this weekend, before the UK Board of Trustees meet Monday, and throughout the spring on the Alumni Gym Fitness Center, which has been worked into the original 1938 building.

As excited as UK officials are, students are pretty psyched as well.

"From what we see it looks fantastic," said SGA President Ben Childress. "It’s a beautiful facility that’s got everything you can ask for. I’m confident it will be the center of gravity for the student body next year and for years to come."

This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 1:22 PM with the headline "A $200 million 'community.' Check out the new UK Student Center.."