University of Louisville Magazine

SUMMER 2015

The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.

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S U M M E R U O F L M A G A Z I N E | 1 7 H A P P E N I N G H E R E Jackhammers, nail guns and concrete mixers have been a daily sight around the Belknap cam- pus this spring, and they won't be going away any time soon. Roadwork that will transform the east side of campus, two new privately-owned student housing complexes and infrastructure work on the new Belknap research park all factor into the ongoing transformation of UofL's campus. Travelers on Interstate 65 will notice a new entrance to the Belknap campus directly off the highway. Warnock St. will become a boule- vard leading directly into campus, with a new visitor's center to be built on the old soccer f eld across the street from a McDonald's restaurant. The same high-traff c, high-pedestrian area along Floyd St. and the athletic f elds is being rebuilt with wider sidewalks, a median, traff c roundabout, buried utility lines and other safety improvements. All of that construction ties in with the $30 million project to provide vehicle access to the new, 39-acre Belknap Engineering and Applied Science Research Park located behind the J.B. Speed School of Engineering. Construction crews completed an access road and two ramps over railroad tracks, with work on water, sewer, gas and electric lines beginning this summer. It took a few years, but UofL has secured state funding for a new $80 million academic build- ing. Construction on the state-of-the-art center is expected to begin this year. A much-discussed renovation of the Swain Student Activities Center will also take shape this summer. While the on-campus improvements are dramatic, so are the changes to areas adjacent to campus as new student housing continues to pop up. Two new privately-built and operated complexes will open before the fall semester begins. The Clubhouse is a 758-bed apartment community bounded by I-65, Eastern Parkway, Crittenden Dr. and Warnock St., while The Retreat is located on the western edge of campus behind Bettie Johnson Hall. The Retreat is a little different, featuring cottages instead of apart- ment buildings, and it has 656 beds. Residents of these two communities and other privately-built housing near UofL will enjoy amenities their college-going parents never dreamed of, includ- ing resort-style pools, sand volleyball courts, movie theaters, f tness centers, a golf simulator and a f re pit. "UofL is a dynamic, rapidly changing, resi- dential campus that many of our alumni may barely recognize," said President James Ramsey. "We hope they'll visit and see the positive trans- formation for themselves." Extreme makeover "Flyover" ramps will connect the Belknap Engineering and Applied Sciences Research Park to the rest of Belknap campus. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium appears in the background.

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