Iconic UK Kirwan-Blanding dorm complex to be razed next year. What will take its place?
University of Kentucky officials said Friday the 11-building Kirwan-Blanding dorm complex should be razed by the end of 2020 and a new 500-bed student housing complex on part of the site could be open by fall 2022.
UK Board of Trustees approved a plan to move forward with demolition of the entire complex, which includes the two, 23-story towers, eight low-rise dorm buildings and a campus dining facility in December 2017. The two towers have stood over the south side of campus since the late 1960s.
The demolition is costly and complicated, said Eric Monday, UK executive vice president for finance and administration.
“Our challenge has been funding,” Monday said Friday at a press conference at UK. “In many ways it’s been cost-prohibitive for us to figure out strategies to move the utilities — which are underway — and to remove the asbestos and to take down the facilities that can be financed.”
The demolition is estimated to cost about $15 million. But that’s nearly $111 million less than the $126 million it was estimated to renovate the dorms to modern standards, which include private bedrooms and bathrooms.
UK will use an internal loan of $10 million and $5 million in private funds for the demolition. An additional $5 million will go to site improvements, including the creation of a several-acre green space that will be known as “UK Green.” The trees that dot that area will be protected, Monday said.
The UK Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the funding for the demolition and the $5 million needed for site improvements at its board meeting on Tuesday, Monday said.
A spike in demand for on-campus housing led to the proposal for the new housing complex on those 14 acres, Monday said. Planning is still in its early stages, but the proposed 500-bed dorm will have roughly 100 freshman beds and the remaining beds will likely be for upper classmen. The site will also allow for two additional dorms to be built on those 14 acres to meet future housing needs, Monday said.
At the same time, the campus wanted to keep a large section of that area for green space, he said.
“Nearly 90 percent of UK’s first-year class of more than 5,300 students are living on campus this academic year,” Monday said. That’s much, much higher than most universities, he said. “UK does not have a requirement that freshmen live on campus.”
This fall the university scrambled to find housing for incoming students as demand for on-campus housing outpaced supply.
“UK not only had record first-year enrollment, but also had record retention and graduation rates,” Monday said. “We believe housing and residence life are essential parts of the formula for student success.”
Monday said if approved by the board, demolition of the 11-building complex would likely take between 12 to 15 months and will begin in early winter.
Monday said razing the complex will not include dynamite. The university will ask contractors for alternatives —such as removing the buildings in phases. The dust as well as blasting on a campus so close to UK’s hospital complex is a concern, Monday said.
Directly underneath the complex is a series of utility tunnels. Those utility tunnels are currently being rerouted, said Mary Vosevich, UK Chief Facilities Officer. UK already allocated $8.5 million for the re-routing of those utilities.
Built in 1967-1968, the Kirwan-Blanding complex was designed by Edward Durell Stone, a pioneer of modernist architecture, who also designed the Gallery of Modern Art in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He also designed the Capital Plaza tower in Frankfort, which the state demolished in 2018.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 1:25 PM.
