KU community invited to forum on Central District campus redevelopment

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas community is invited to learn about redevelopment plans for KU’s Central District at an open forum from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, in the Courtside Room of the Burge Union.

Hosted by KU’s Office of Design & Construction Management, the forum will provide KU students, faculty and staff a chance to explore the university’s plans to transform portions of the Central District with new structures and spaces as part of KU’s comprehensive Campus Master Plan, which was launched last year.

The Central District is the area bounded by West 15th Street to the north, West 19th Street to the south, Naismith Drive to the east and Iowa Street to the west. The heart of the redeveloped district will be Innovation Way, which will include new learning and research facilities and student living and meeting spaces.

The open forum will include a short presentation at 4:30 p.m. but will center on a series of small, direct conversations between attendees and KU planners. Assorted visuals will help attendees envision components of the Central District redevelopment and, more broadly, the Campus Master Plan.

“We are excited to continue having conversations with the KU community so we can all understand what KU will look like in the future and how a modernized university will benefit us all,” said Jim Modig, DCM director and university architect. “As we said when we launched the Campus Master Plan in 2014, this is a special opportunity for us to transform the university into a national model and better position ourselves to serve the state and nation.”

The university hosted a similar forum July 29 for Lawrence residents.

The 2014–2024 Campus Master Plan is KU’s fifth and most comprehensive master plan. The plan was developed over a 13-month period, during which hundreds of individuals were engaged in meetings, focus groups, interviews and charrettes. The end result is a document that includes extensive analysis and reports on space and classroom utilization, historic patterns and resources, land use, program accommodation, sustainability, coordination with the local community and other areas. Visit the Campus Master Plan homepage for details, including renderings and a video.