UK’s $3 billion building boom: How has campus changed under Capilouto? What’s next?
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Man With a Plan
Eli Capilouto became the president of the University of Kentucky in 2011. In the 10-plus years since, UK has invested nearly $3 billion in campus improvements.
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In the last 10 years, UK’s campus has been updated in many areas: dorms, research centers and academic buildings.
When President Eli Capilouto was hired, he made improving structures on campus a priority. At his investiture speech, Capilouto called for UK’s campus to be updated.
“We have a 21st century faculty and student body,” Capilouto said in 2011. “We can no longer be satisfied with 19th century living and learning spaces.”
Since then, UK has invested nearly $3 billion in campus facilities. Here are some of the updates to campus that have been made since then, and current projects taking place.
Dorms
When Capilouto was hired, he saw the need to modernize the dorms at UK. Since 2013, UK has opened 14 new dorms for on-campus living, with more than 6,800 beds. With options like two- and four-person suites, with private bathrooms and kitchenettes, UK’s dorms went through major updates.
Dorms at UK also include several living learning communities, where students can live with others who are in the same majors or have similar backgrounds or interests.
New dorms include:
- Lewis Hall and the University Flats, opened in 2017.
- Holmes Hall and Boyd Hall, opened in 2014.
- Woodland Glen Halls, opened in 2014.
- Jewell Hall, Blazer Hall, Chellgren Hall and Haggin Hall, opened in 2014.
- Lyman T. Johnson Hall and Donovan Hall, opened in 2013.
Gatton Student Center
UK opened its renovated Gatton Student Center in 2018. The building includes dining areas, a Barnes and Noble Bookstore and Cafe, as well as rooms for meetings and study spaces.
The previous UK student center was built in 1938, then expanded in 1963 and 1982. UK opened an expansion of the Student Center last year, which includes additional dining and student support spaces. Several offices are housed in the new expansion, including the Office for Student Success.
The Student Center includes several ballrooms, where events or meetings can be held. There’s plenty of space for students to relax or study, and a fitness center. Dining locations like Great Bagel, Chick-fil-A and Panda Express are also located in the Student Center.
Current projects
There are several construction projects underway, including major renovations to Frazee Hall and the Chemistry-Physics Building on campus.
Mary Vosevich, vice president for facilities management and chief facilities officer, said UK construction can fall into different categories: modernization and new construction. Modernization takes existing buildings and updates them, while new construction brings new buildings to campus. The Chemistry-Physics and Frazee Hall renovations are both part of modernization efforts, with updates to the interior and exterior of both buildings.
“We want to continue with our modernization efforts,” Vosevich said. “It’s really important that we take care of what we have, and what is the best use of those spaces on campus now.”
Chemistry-Physics Building
The Chemistry-Physics Building, which was originally completed in 1962 and is located on Rose Street, is undergoing major renovations that will add new laboratories, offices and collaboration spaces. The building will also have a new exterior and roof, and new entrances.
The first phase of the project began in January 2018, and the project is scheduled to be complete at the end of June 2022.
Additionally, construction began outside the Chemistry-Physics building this summer. Funkhouser Drive, Library Drive and parts of Rose Street have been fenced off in order to complete work on the exterior of the building and complete utility work on Rose Street.
Both phases of the renovation total $59 million, according to UK’s website.
Frazee Hall and White Hall
Renovations to Frazee Hall will include a new exterior, a new elevator, new stair towers and a connector to the Gatton Student Center, according to UK. The renovations in Frazee Hall are “a full modernization,” Vosevich said.
The renovations total $15 million, according to UK’s website. Vosevich said the Frazee Hall modernization will “probably be a couple of years out before we’ll finish the design and do the construction.”
A section of White Hall, the largest classroom building on campus, is also being updated.
“White Hall has been around for quite a while, and I think the restrooms in that building have never been updated,” Vosevich said. “We are now updating the restrooms in that building ad we are making a lot of really good progress with that. It’s made a huge difference in that building.”
Rose Street Outdoor Space
UK is also planning to turn space along Rose Street into a pedestrian mall.
“Rose Street kind of cuts the campus right down the middle, and we did a study a few years ago where there were 19,000 pedestrian crossings a day on Rose Street,” Vosevich said. “I don’t know anywhere else in Lexington that has that many pedestrian crossings a day.”
Current utility work on Rose Street means UK now has the opportunity to do updates in the area, Vosevich said.
The plan is to limit vehicle traffic to emergency vehicles only and add seating, lighting and “a lot of places where people can congregate,” Vosevich said. There will also be gathering spaces where classes could potentially be hosted outdoors.
“We’re excited about that project,” Vosevich said.
UK is preparing to open up bidding for construction along Rose Street, and after that is complete, construction would take about a year, Vosevich said.
Upcoming projects
UK has two major construction projects planned for the future: a cancer center and a medical education facility. Those projects are still in the early phases, Vosevich said. The design process will take about 18 months, and construction will take between 18 months to two years for each project.
UK is also currently working to open two additional floors in the Chandler Hospital Pavilion A, which will expand the hospital’s current capacity. The medical education center will focus on allowing more students to study health care fields at UK.
“Kentucky needs more health care professionals, and so we need to be working on preparing those,” Vosevich said. “We need more nurses, we need more doctors, we need more physical therapists, we need more public health professionals. So that was really important to us, being able to grow those cohorts of students that can graduate and serve the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
The cancer ambulatory center, which has also been identified as a need in Kentucky, will provide outpatient care for cancer patients. It will be on the west side of Limestone Street and part of UK Hospitals, Vosevich said.
