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

  • Carnegie Mellon University Receives $3B Gift to Launch New Campus

    Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently announced that it has received $3 billion—the largest individual gift in higher education history—from Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin, according to a news release.

  • Longwood University Hits Construction Milestone on New Music Education Facility

    Longwood University in Farmville, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of its new music education and performance facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with development and construction firm Skanska on the 63,800-square-foot facility, which began construction in August 2025 and has an estimated completion date of fall 2028.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.