University of Kentucky Breaks Ground on $34M Mixed-Use Parking, Innovation Center

LEXINGTON, KY – The University of Kentucky (UK) and Signet Real Estate Group have broken ground on a mixed-use parking facility in Lexington that includes over 900 new parking spaces and over 23,000 square feet of innovation and retail space that will revitalize one of the main corridors into the UK campus.

University of Kentucky Mixed-Use 500

The P3 (public-private partnership) project is the first step in accomplishing UK’s vision of transforming this critical entrance to campus into a hub for innovation that will better serve the needs of students, faculty, staff, and the community. The university anticipates that the project will anchor its programs in applied technology and creative development within a larger “innovation district,” where UK will partner with the City of Lexington to invest in the adaptive re-use and re-imagination of this historic area.

The ground floor of this mixed-use facility will house the innovation center and retail components. Plans for the university’s innovation center, which will serve students, the UK campus, and the greater Lexington community, are underway and may include application development, technology partnerships, design thinking studio space, and e-sports initiative components. The innovation center and retail area will be managed in partnership between Signet and UK, and the parking will be managed as part of UK’s campus operations.

The project is due to be completed by Fall 2020.

Featured

  • Duncanville High School Breaks Ground on New CTE Building

    Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the newest addition to its campus, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) facility. The new building is part of a larger CTE expansion project for the school included in a 2023, $170-million bond program.

  • Kimball International Debuts Health & Education Experience Center

    Kimball International recently opened a new facility at its corporate headquarters in Jasper, Ind., that will act as a hands-on showroom for a variety of its furniture products and solutions, according to a news release. The 13,000-square-foot Health & Education Experience Center was originally designed by Gensler as the headquarters for Kimball International’s National brand.

  • Abstract colorful arrows in front of a contemporary university building

    Spaces4Learning 2025 Trends in Higher Education

    With 2025 well underway, it’s time to take a look at some broader trends submitted by you, our Spaces4Learning readership. We asked for your thoughts on topics like classroom design, health & safety, materials & construction, and technology in both K–12 and higher-education environments. Below is a roundup of 2025 trends in higher education from the experts in the trenches.

  • Ancient Resilience: How Indigenous Intelligence Shapes the 4Roots Education Building

    As climate change intensifies, educational spaces must evolve beyond basic sustainability toward true resilience – we must design environments that can adapt, respond, and thrive amid shifting, and intensifying, climate hazards. Drawing on indigenous wisdom and nature-based strategies, integrating resilient design offers a path to create learning environments that are not only functional but deeply in tune with their natural surroundings.

Digital Edition