LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The University of Kentucky is set to open a massive, $200 million student center Monday with rooftop gardens, fire pits and high-tech meeting rooms.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader , the 378,000 square-foot facility features a three-story atrium that resembles Raven Run Nature Sanctuary in Lexington. Its new cafeteria even serves waffles featuring UK logos and wildcat paw prints.
“We want prospective students to say ’Wow, I have to be part of this university,’” said student center director John Herbst. “But the real point of the student center is in really building community. We want everyone to feel embraced.”
The previous student center was built in 1938 and expanded in 1963 and 1982, but has since been deemed too small for what’s needed.
The new building centers on a dramatic set of wooden stairs, which feature the words of the university fight song and a bronze statue of Bowman the wildcat.
The center houses a 564-seat movie theater, a black box theater for performing arts, a Barnes and Noble UK Bookstore, a Starbucks and an Apple Store for computer help.
“This is a state of the art student center,” said Paul Maloney, vice president of stores for Barnes and Noble. “At this point, it is second to none in the country.”
There also will meeting and conference rooms, a grand ballroom, a new visitors center, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, and space for student government and other clubs.
The center hopes to achieve LEED silver status for its environmental components, including an underground tank that collects rain water from the roof to irrigate landscaped areas.
Construction on the new project began in 2015, a year after trustee Bill Gatton pledged $20 million. The center was also funded by bonds that the university, a portion of student fees and private fundraising will help repay.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com
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