Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Kentucky Names Upcoming Outdoor Development Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/22/22

The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently announced that its upcoming Rose Street Development Park Project will be named the Alumni Commons.

The project comes with an estimated cost of $9 million and will feature amenities like outdoor classrooms, a water fountain fixture, lawn seating beneath a terrace, patio and garden areas, and other permanent installations, according to a news release.

“We are excited to announce the naming of this project that we believe will become a great focal point for faculty, staff and students on our campus, as well as for alumni who return to their alma mater for events and celebrations,” said Tom Harris, UK vice president for university relations and interim vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement. “Rose Street funnels pedestrian traffic to and from some of UK’s most iconic structures, and the transformation of this space will elevate and enhance our campus.”

The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees accepted at its June board meeting a $3-million pledge from the UK Alumni Association to set up a capital project fund called the “UKAA Rose Street Plaza Beautification Fund.” The goal of the project, according to the news release, was the demolition, redesign, construction, renovation and expansion of the campus’ Rose Street Plaza. The gift agreement gave naming rights to the Alumni Association, and after consultation with alumni, employees and students, the UKAA Board selected Alumni Commons as the name for the redeveloped space.

“The UK Alumni Association is proud to be a partner in this transformational project for UK,” said Jill Smith, executive director of the UK Alumni Association and associate vice president for alumni engagement. “Alumni Commons will be an exciting and welcoming space for all Wildcats, located right in the heart of our campus. The UK Alumni Association looks forward to collaborating with our campus community to engage students and alumni through this beautiful space.”

The Construction Journal website reports that new amenities and features will include hardscapes, benches, stone masonry planters, seating, a fountain, charging stations and walkway lighting, accent lighting, stone slab benches and stone terrace walls, metal arbor structures, cobblestone pavements, landscaping and sodding.

The project’s estimated completion date is July 2023.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.