UT-Knoxville to Construct Several New Projects Over Next Few Years
Wed August 24, 2022 - Southeast Edition WBIR-TV10 News
Students, faculty and Volunteers' sports fans all need to be alert for construction on the campus at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville (UT). Work will stay busy for quite a while longer as several building projects are set to continue this year — and the years to come.
The most visible and popular upgrades are being done to Neyland Stadium, meant to enhance seating and create the infrastructure for a club area at the Vols' football venue in the future. Additionally, there also are renovations of a video board toward the south endzone, with a new video board on the opposite side.
Those and several other Neyland improvements are planned to continue through the fall of 2026, according to an Aug. 22 report from Knoxville's WBIR-TV news station.
Trio of Projects to Finish in 2022
Although the stadium project is highly visible, it is not the only important construction effort on the UT campus. Several others are under way to improve academic buildings and create more housing for students.
Three of the projects are slated to be completed this fall:
Crews currently are building a 19,000-sq.-ft. addition to the university's College of Veterinary Medicine. It will be used as a new teaching and learning center, giving veterinary medicine students a simulation and teaching laboratory space. The project also is to include a new entrance to the Veterinary Medicine Library. It will replace a surface parking lot, according to WBIR-TV.
The Joe Johnson-John Ward Pedestrian Mall is being constructed on what was Andy Holt Avenue. The new gathering area removes some parking in the center of campus but replaces those spaces with what UT officials call an "active pedestrian zone," featuring new bike lanes and seating options.
A new venue for UT Creamery, an ice cream parlor on campus, is also set to open in the next few months at the site of the former Visitors Center on Neyland Drive. It will be run by students, helping them learn modern ice cream production methods as well as manufacturing, logistics, retail business, marketing and sales.
Stormwater Management Projects Coming in 2023
Next year will see the completion of two more building efforts on the UT campus.
In the spring, Stormwater Park is slated to open. While it will include water features and recreation areas, it also is designed to have a new water management system that will redirect heavy rain into water retention ponds. In doing so, engineers allow the rainfall to be absorbed into the ground instead of flowing into storm drains. The park's location will be where the old Morrill Hall Dorm once stood.
Contractors should wrap up the West Volunteer Boulevard Streetscape project in the fall of 2023. Its construction removes on-street parking and replaces old stormwater infrastructure with new landscaping, lighting, and plaza areas.
Engineers Well into Design of Other Projects
Several other notable projects at the University of Tennessee are still in their design phase, such as:
A 157,000-sq.-ft. Energy and Environmental Science Research Building in the UT Institute of Agriculture. The proposed structure is expected to include a green roof space for events and research, capable of holding stormwater. Its completion is set to be in the spring of 2024, the Knoxville TV station reported.
The university also has a new theater planned, with an expected opening set for late 2024. The new Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre is likely to be 17,000-sq.-ft. in size and will replace the current Carousel Theatre. Experimental and flexible theatre space is being designed into the venue's plans, with back-of-house support spaces.
UT also wants to open the Croley Nursing Building in the fall of 2025. The 117,000 sq. ft. facility will offer students and instructors new classrooms, simulation labs, research labs, offices, another campus green roof, and a healing garden. The structure will replace the university's existing College of Nursing building.
Some Project Concepts Still Being Discussed
Soon, UT will begin the design process for:
The renovations at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, home of the Vols' baseball team. Officials told WBIR-TV that that project will include more seating and club spaces as well as new spaces for the team, and infrastructure improvements.
The university also will start designing two new residence halls to provide a total of 1,300 new beds.
More classroom spaces also are expected to be built on current parking areas.
A plan to expand the Haslam College of Business with a new building at UT offering flexible classroom spaces and collaboration areas is yet another idea still on the drawing board.
