Building Projects
A $1 billion-plus Capital Improvements Program is transforming Carolina, adding much-needed space and renovating outdated facilities.
From labs to classrooms and residence halls to arts venues, the program is touching every aspect of campus life for the better. What’s more, the program preserves the beauty that Carolina is renowned for, with a Campus Master Plan guiding construction in an enlightened, environmentally responsible way. Our goal is to do more than build buildings. We will create invigorating learning environments for teaching, research and service that encourage collaboration across disciplines and foster Carolina's unique spirit of collegiality.
Much of the program is being funded by the North Carolina Higher Education Bonds. But because those will cover only a portion of the costs, private gifts must play a critical role in helping to cover the balance, as well as in providing for facilities not included in the bond issue.
Click the links below to learn about projects that still need private support.
- Ackland Art Museum Expansion
- Campus Y Renovation
- Carolina Physical Science Complex (Phase I)
- FedEx Global Education Center
- Genetic Medicine Building
- Michael Hooker Research Center (School of Public Health)
- Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Renovation and Addition
- Oral Sciences Complex (School of Dentistry)
- Rizzo Center Expansion (Kenan-Flagler Business School)
- School of Nursing Addition
- Smith Hall Renovation (Old Playmakers Theater)
- Visitor Education Center (North Carolina Botanical Garden)
Ackland Art Museum Expansion
The Ackland Art Museum plans a three-phase 42,000 square-foot addition, creating a destination for people seeking experiences with art, quiet contemplation, and fun with family and friends. The "New Ackland" will deepen the museum's ability to collect, preserve and display great works of art; create knowledge; nurture the intellectual climate and student life on campus; support the K-12 educational community statewide; and hospitably welcome visitors onto our historic campus from across the state and around the world. Features include: dramatic new gallery spaces, high-tech state-of-the-art classroom that connects the museum to learning centers around the world, studio classroom for art-making activities, education resource center, photography and audio/video center, enlarged print study room, spacious storage vaults, community room for public programs, and sculpture courtyard. The New Ackland is being designed by The Polshek Partnership.
Goal: $20 million
Contact: Amanda Hughes
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Campus Y Renovation
The Campus Y was completed in 1907, resulting in the need for a major repair. The renovation gave the building spaces for multiple uses, including a new coffee bar with sidewalk cafe, a lounge for faculty and visiting alumni, two state-of-the-art seminar rooms, conference and reception rooms, and a gallery. The project also brought the building into compliance with fire and disability-access codes, as well as provided new heating and air conditioning, plumbing, and wiring.
Goal: $3 million
Contact: Terri Hegeman
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Carolina Physical Science Complex (Phase I)
The Carolina Physical Science Complex, located at the heart of North Campus on historic Polk Place, is a two-phase project that will provide much-needed space for the departments of chemistry, computer science, marine sciences, mathematics, and physics and astronomy. The facilities will also house the new Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and Technology. The largest construction project in Carolina's history, the new and renovated buildings will remedy the current problems of substandard facilities and provide new classrooms, lecture halls, research laboratories, offices, an interdisciplinary science library and a rooftop astronomy observatory deck.
Goal: $22.1 million (Phase I)
Contact: Rob Parker
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FedEx Global Education Center
Carolina’s new FedEx Global Education Center is unique among American colleges and universities. The 80,000 square-foot building is a vibrant hub of international activity, combining three major components of international education: student and faculty services, academic instruction and programs, and research. Along with four classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium and numerous conference rooms, the building includes the College’s six area studies centers, the Curriculum in International and Area Studies, the Study Abroad Office, the Center for Global Initiatives, International Student & Scholar Services, and the Office of International Affairs. In development is a dedicated research center where visiting scholars will collaborate with UNC faculty and students on critical global issues. The building is located at the intersection of McCauley and Pittsboro Streets, just past the Carolina Inn.
Goal: $7.5 million
Contact: Daniel Lebold
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Genetic Medicine Building
This 225,000 square foot facility, designed to enhance collaboration within and across disciplines, will provide labs and offices for the departments of genetics, pharmacology and other life sciences focusing on genomics research. Located at the heart of UNC's growing science campus along Mason Farm Road and Manning Drive, the Genetic Medicine Building is one of four new facilities that are part of a campus-wide commitment to invest at least $245 million over the next decade to genome sciences. The other three facilities are the Neuroscience Research Building, the Medical Biomolecular Research Building and the Bioinformatics Building. All three have opened.
Goal: $18.55 million
Contact: David Anderson
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Michael Hooker Research Center (School of Public Health)
Part of the nation's top School of Public Health at a public university, this new state-of-the-art center equips the school to address some of the most challenging and critical public health issues facing North Carolina and the rest of the world. With modern laboratories and high-tech systems, the center gives researchers, teachers and students the tools necessary to continue and expand their work in: battling infectious diseases such as SARS, HIV/AIDS and malaria; fighting cancers with new knowledge of genetics; protecting against environmental health threats; improving nutritional health and ability to fight obesity and cancers; and defending against bioterrorism.
Goal: $10 million
Contact: Peggy Dean Glenn
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Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Renovation and Addition
A major renovation to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center will upgrade the existing facilities and repair wear and tear on the aging building. Plans also call for adding 10,000 square feet. This expansion will house a grand lobby with a larger retail area and will allow better access to the theaters and public spaces of the Morehead Building. A multipurpose gathering space will also be included in the addition, offering visiting school groups a place to gather and eat in inclement weather.
Goal: $4 million
Contact: Carol Vorhaus
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Oral Science Complex
Planned to relieve a severe dental care shortage in North Carolina, this building will enlarge the School of Dentistry's graduation capacity by 45 to 50 students per year. The facility, sited next to the dental school, will include teaching, patient care, continuing education, distance learning and research space. The school's graduates are distributed throughout the state, practicing in 96 of 100 counties, and generating more graduates will provide a cost-effective way to alleviate the state's dental care shortage. The new Dental Sciences Building will also meet the critical need for new, environment-friendly and technically advanced research space. It represents the school's first opportunity to expand and modernize research space in 38 years and holds the key to ensuring that dental research, discovery and associated economic development remain strong in North Carolina.
Goal:$6.125 million
Contact: Kelly Almond
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Rizzo Center Expansion (Kenan-Flagler Business School)
The expansion of the Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center, home of the Kenan-Flagler Business School's executive education programs, will add more than 70,000 square feet to the facilities. Once complete, the Rizzo Center will have double the number of guest rooms (from 60 to 120), two new classrooms, two additional seminar rooms, and expanded social and recreational areas. This growth will enable the center to serve nearly 7,000 executives annually, more than twice the current 3,300.
Goal: $9 million
Contact: Jim Gray
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School of Nursing Addition
This 69,350 square-foot addition connecting Carrington Hall and across Medical Drive from the Health Affairs Bookstore, houses classrooms, faculty offices, and research space that support the School's mission to serve Carolina's people and communities by educating nurses and those who teach them. The fourth floor Cynthia M. Freund Rooftop Garden is designed to control storm-water runoff by using an environmentally sound gray water system.
Goal: $4 million (to name building)
Contact: Norma Hawthorne
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Smith Hall Renovation (Old Playmakers Theater)
Smith Hall, originally constructed in 1851, was renovated as Playmakers Theater in 1925, making it the first building on a state university campus dedicated to dramatic art. The building, the fourth oldest on campus, will again be renovated to include central air conditioning and new seating and fixtures.
Goal: $500,000
Contact: Paul Kapp
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Visitor Education Center (North Carolina Botanical Garden)
Designed by Frank Harmon Architects, the 29,656 square-foot Visitor Education Center will provide more space for the Botanical Garden's expanding educational and horticultural therapy programs, as well as for its public service outreach efforts. The center will be located near the current visitor parking lot off the US 15-501 Bypass and Old Mason Farm Road. The green, sustainable building is designed for L.E.E.D. Platinum certification and will set a new standard for public construction in North Carolina. In 2006, UNC-Chapel Hill students, through the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee, awarded $210,000 to help build the geothermal well system for the Visitor Education Center.
Goal: $12 million
More information
Contact: Charlotte Jones-Roe
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