|
|
|
|
|
|
U of L Shelby Campus to become research, office park |
|
|
Research, office park work nears
LOUISVILLE, KY (August 13, 2008) - After nearly a decade of planning and preparation, construction will start this month on a new road network at the University of Louisville Shelby Campus, which the school will develop as a research and office park.
The improvements will occur on the campus north of Shelbyville Road, west of Hurstbourne Parkway and east of Whipps Mill Road. No work is planned on campus property east of Hurstbourne or west of Whipps Mill.
The goal is to develop 108 acres of the 230-acre campus for business, office, technology and research use, said Burt Deutsch of the University of Louisville Development Co., which was formed in May to oversee the project. It is an affiliate of the U of L Foundation; the U of L trustees have directed the foundation to oversee the development of Shelby Campus.
Deutsch said, "We have pledged to retain a campus-like setting on the property. … We are keeping that promise."
U of L will spend $7.9 million on the improvements. Of that total, $5.7 million is coming from a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet grant awarded to the university in 2007 and $2.2 million is coming from the U of L Foundation's invested endowment. A contract was signed Monday for construction of the roadway with Team Contracting LLC of Louisville, Deutsch said.
The road network should be completed by Dec. 1, but some of the water, electric, gas, cable and telephone facilities and sewers may not be completed until early next year.
Two Louisville companies, Sabak, Wilson & Lingo Inc. and QK4, have been hired to handle the planning, design and engineering.
The plans call for new four-lane, boulevard-style roads on the campus. The roads will have bike lanes, five-foot-wide sidewalks and a 16-foot-wide, landscaped median. Nearly 500 trees will be planted in buffer areas along the edges of the campus and on the boulevards.
A buffer between the western boundary of the campus and the adjacent city of Bellemeade will be 120 feet wide. Two other buffers along Shelbyville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway each will be 50 feet wide.
The newly configured campus will offer five entrances. The existing entrance to campus on Shelbyville Road will be realigned with the traffic light at Whittington Parkway. The existing entrance at Whipps Mill Road will be improved.
Two new entrances will be created off Hurstbourne Parkway, and a fifth entrance will be developed by linking the campus road system with Hurstbourne Trace.
Before road construction can begin, workers will need to do some blasting in areas where there is bedrock just under the soil. The contractor will deliver fliers about the work in advance to people who live nearby, and provide an answer line for any neighbor with questions, Deutsch said.
A 20-acre tract in the center of campus will be reserved as an "academic core" to accommodate U of L's current academic mission and cover future expansion needs, Deutsch said.
Existing dormitory buildings and the Instructional Technology Resource Center on campus will be demolished and activities in those buildings will be moved to the Founders Union Building and Burhans Hall.
Construction of a regional biosafety lab should be completed by year's end, but it probably won't be operational until next year, Deutsch said.
U of L officials plan to begin soon to market the campus to prospective tenants, with development planned over 10 to 20 years, he said.
"We need to make the most of this piece of highly valuable real estate, but do it in a way that preserves the character of its green space and leverages the existing academic and research programs there," Deutsch said.U of L officials have tried to keep nearby residents, mainly people in Bellemeade just east of Shelby Campus, apprised of the plans.
Richard Pontrich, who served nearly two years as the mayor of Bellemeade through mid-July, said he thinks U of L officials are "going to do pretty much what they want" with the campus and "I can't say whether I like it or not."
But he said he is pleased that officials have kept the residents informed and that he believes having the land developed by U of L is better than having a private developer do the work.
Media Contact:
Charissa Acree
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Blog Links |
|
CategoriesArchives |
|
|
Peritus News 