New UK agriculture building helps make way for hospital expansion. See inside

The University of Kentucky unveiled a modern $60 million agricultural science facility Thursday which will open for classes this fall.

The new Martin-Gatton Agricultural Sciences development will eventually be used to replace other agricultural buildings to make room for UK HealthCare’s hospital expansion. The university announced Thursday it will build a $580 million utilities plant nearby to support the hospital.

The 66,000-square-foot agricultural facility sits at the corner of Cooper Drive and Nicholasville Road. It houses classrooms, study spaces and a cafe. A food vendor has not yet been chosen.

The structure is mostly surrounded by glass to preserve electricity with natural lighting.

But fear not, bird lovers. The glass exterior is covered in fritzes, or strategically placed small dots, to keep birds from flying into the glass. Carmen Agouridis, the college’s senior associate dean of instruction, said the idea was recommended by a natural resources and environmental science student.

“He was very concerned about the amount of glass we had and how that would impact birds,” Agouridis said. “There’s a whole science behind the spacing and everything.”

The new agricultural building will cover fields of study including the new Higgins-Neyland Companion Animal Program, which will study “the relationship between animals and human bond,” Agouridis said.

The building will also house agricultural and medical biotechnology, natural resources and environmental science, pre-veterinary mentoring, agricultural equine programs and the Department of Community and Leadership Development.

Funding for the new building came in 2023 from a $100 million gift, the largest donation in the university’s history, from the Bill Gatton Foundation, UK’s largest philanthropic donor.

One of the building’s standout features is a spacious outdoor balcony with seating areas and plants overlooking other areas of campus.

For now, that includes views of construction cranes and to-be demolished agricultural buildings.

The Agricultural Science Center North and the W.P. Garrigus Building will eventually come down to make space for the expansion of UK HealthCare’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital, according to C.E. Huffman, a university spokesperson.

The north science center, at 1100 South Limestone St., was planned to be demolished in March but was pushed back, according to procurement records and Huffman. Programs in Garrigus will eventually move to the new building, and Ag. North will move across the street from where it currently stands, Huffman said.

UK President Eli Capilouto said the state-of-the-art facility will help students take on “changing demands of a global agricultural economy.”

Agriculture in Fayette County contributes to $2.6 billion annually to the local economy, according to Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton.

Republican state Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe – who represents Boyle, Mercer, Woodford and parts of Fayette counties – said the agricultural college’s advancement will help students address environmental uncertainties.

“Things that we don’t even know about, a future with AI in all things, immediate growing population with limited land and water, advancing animal health and driving innovation in Ag and science that we can’t even see yet…,” said Bledsoe. “I have complete confidence that UK is ready for the challenge.”