UNC officials provided a semi-annual update to the Town of Chapel Hill about construction projects at a Wednesday council meeting.

These projects included major developments which have been completed, projects undergoing construction and projects in the design phase. Evan Yassky is a university architect for UNC who delivered the presentation to the council. 

Here are the projects that were mentioned during the town council meeting.

Completed Projects

The Curtis Media Center: The newest addition for the Hussman School of Media and Journalism is a loft-like building which includes a major broadcast studio, a podcast studio and classrooms. It replaced Phillips Hall Annex, which was located next to UNC’s Memorial Hall. Construction of the building began in the 2018-2019 academic year, and the project was completed in the spring. 

The National Pan-Hellenic Council Legacy Plaza: The plaza is located in the courtyard of the Student Academic Services’ courtyard, which is on the intersection of Manning Drive and Ridge Road. 

Yassky and said the plaza recognizes the ‘Divine Nine’ group of fraternities and sororities. 

“There are similar types of installations on other campuses,  but we didn’t have one previously in Chapel Hill, so we’re very excited to have a place to recognize these groups,” Yassky.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Legacy Plaza on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Photo creds via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

UNC Health Central Generator Plant: The plant was constructed on behalf of UNC Health and goes hand-in-hand with their surgical tower building. It is located directly across from the emergency room entrance. 

“This was a requirement to upgrade their emergency generation to comply with current regulations,” Yassky said. 

Projects in Construction

Kenan Football Center: The center is attached to the west side of the Kenan Football Stadium. It houses offices, locker rooms and other facilities for the football team.

“We’re adding a small edition to that building, primarily to add some therapeutic spaces in the sports medicine area for the student athletes to get more in line with peer institutions that have those types of spaces for their team,” Yassky said.

(Image via UNC-Chapel Hill)

A look at the ongoing construction for expansion of the Kenan Football Center as of October 2022.

Medical Education Building: The building is now named “Roper Hall” after the former dean and CEO of the hospital, who recently retired. The university anticipates the project will be completed in the spring, just in time to welcome the next class of medical students.

UNC Health Surgical Tower: The tower aims to welcome patients in 2024. The facility will be the largest on the university’s medical campus and will reach seven stories tall. 

“It’s been a long time coming. It’s now well out of the ground — much of the sod is in place, but there’s still about a year plus of construction and then commission to get it operational,” Yassky said.

Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center: The new tennis center will be located behind the Friday Center, and is scheduled to be completed by next spring.

“The tennis courts out there were in pretty bad shape — they were cracking annually and every spring was a race to get the courts fixed in time for competition,” Yassky said. “Both men’s and women’s teams have been performing quite well and reaching high rankings, and we’re building this facility to get it up to speed with what the team is doing.”

Projects in Design

Horace Williams Solar and Energy Storage: The construction contract for the storage center was recently signed. It is set to be built at what used to be named the Horace Williams Airport, which is located at Carolina North off of Estes Drive. 

“In the coming months we’ll start to see this solar array out there, and I’ve presented this at least a couple of times,” Yassky said. “It generates interest, and we’re very excited to have these contract struggles with the installer behind us so we can finally have this installation on our site.”

Carrington Hall Renewal: Carrington Hall is the home of the UNC School of Nursing, which is increasing its class size. It will host new, large facilities for both students in the School of Nursing and School of Medicine. UNC aims to begin construction next year, shortly after UNC’s medical building is completed. A $6.8 million donation is making the renovation possible. 

Chapel Hill Town Council Member Camille Berry said she was thrilled to hear about the Carrington Hall Renewal project. 

“I just wanted to say thank you for all of this work you’re doing with your campus which is in our town,” Berry said. “I was really excited to hear about the expansion of the class size for nursing, because we so desperately need nurses and more of those professionals.”

Kenan-Flagler Business School Addition and Renovation: UNC’s business school will undergo significant expansion after donor Steven D. Bell Hall pledged a $25 million gift. The new building will include a doubled teaching space with 16 classrooms, enhanced technology for hybrid and online courses and become LEED Gold Certified. 

The groundbreaking for the business school renovation was on September 28, and construction is anticipated to begin by the end of the year. It will take approximately two years and two months to complete. Renovations to the McColl Building will take an additional year. The new building will be adjacent to the Business School parking deck and connected to the McColl Building with the entrance located on Blythe Drive. 

Porthole Alley Redevelopment Project: The project includes the design of UNC’s Undergraduate Admissions building and a reimagined Welcome Center, retention programs and expansion of retail opportunities. It will be located on Franklin Street at the Northwest corner of campus. Officials said the project is one of their top priorities, and they hope to have a more extensive update in the near future. 

Looking north into Porthole Alley from campus. (Concept art via KieranTimberlake)

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