UK Proposes Buying University Lofts Building for Art Department

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 14, 2011) − University of Kentucky Department of Art professors and students are celebrating today as the UK Board of Trustees authorized the university to negotiate the purchase of a Lexington building to become the department's new home. The university will enter into negotiations to acquire the privately owned former tobacco warehouse, currently known as University Lofts, located immediately adjacent to campus on Bolivar Street. 

Several years ago, UK began exploring a number of options to rehabilitate Reynolds Building No. 1 that houses instructional areas in the UK Department of Art in the UK College of Fine Arts. This process was made necessary due to significant structural problems in the aging former warehouse. Now the university believes it has found a solution that would not only meet the needs of the institution's art students, faculty and staff, but would also save money in necessary renovations to Reynolds Building No. 1.

University Lofts has a similar usable square footage as Reynolds Building No. 1, about 100,000 sq. ft.  But because University Lofts has recently been renovated, it is in much better condition than Reynolds Building No. 1. It is proposed that purchasing and converting this building is a more logical, fiscally responsible option to accommodate the needs of UK art students.

Reynolds Building No. 1 is a former tobacco warehouse and processing facility constructed in 1934 and acquired by UK in 1962. It has never had a major renovation, and the space is now nearly unsuitable and undesirable for student and faculty use due to general building age and unacceptable conditions, according to Bob Wiseman, UK vice president for Facilities Management. While some upgrades have been made over the years to keep the building compliant with safety and fire codes, an extensive $17 million renovation requested for state funding in 2008 was not appropriated.

Reynolds Building No. 1 with its tall, flexible floor areas, durable surfaces and large windows, has been home to the majority of faculty and students in the UK Department of Art for more than 30 years. An affinity for the "loft like" building has been voiced by some students, faculty and alumni over the years. These positive attitudes exist despite the building's many persistent problems. Although the facility features resilient materials, sound construction techniques and a sense of craftsmanship, significant improvements are needed in lighting, campus access, building egress, fire safety, ventilation and inadequate environmental control.

In addition to the day-to-day structural and operational impediments that students, faculty and staff must overcome, the building has hindered UK Department of Art's education process and recruitment efforts.

"The condition of Reynolds was the main reason that our accreditation from NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design) was delayed," says Benjamin C. Withers, chair of UK Department of Art. "We attempted to gain accreditation in 2006. The site-visit team from NASAD identified our facilities as a major problem. At the same time we conducted an extensive health and safety survey to document exactly what the problems were so that we could begin to fix them. We were granted accreditation in 2008 only after the university addressed some of the more significant problems."

To keep the department's accreditation, Withers has to provide updates to the accreditor outlining what progress the university is making on the facility every six months. "Having a healthful, safe and well-designed facility will be crucial to obtaining reaccreditation, a process we will undertake in 2013," notes Withers.

Reynolds Building No. 1 has also had an impact on recruiting and retention. "Simply put, students who have a choice in where to go rarely choose us because of facilities," says Withers.

The condition of Reynolds Building No. 1 has also limited the number of summer classes and community-oriented programs UK could provide and has made fundraising difficult as well for the UK Department of Art.

The university’s initial effort to resolve safety and security issues involved a public/private partnership that called for the rehabilitation of an entire block along Broadway, from Bolivar St. to Scott St., to include a hotel, a conference center, retail space and a substantially renovated Reynolds Building No. 1 facility. This project was initiated early in 2008, but because of the general economic conditions at the time, the proposed developer project was never initiated.

Since then, the university has sought numerous options for renovating Reynolds Building No. 1, including a number of requests to the Kentucky General Assembly for state bonds. But the state’s fiscal condition prohibited the General Assembly from funding the project.

The University Lofts Building offers a much needed alternative.

"The renovations required to accommodate the College of Fine Arts in University Lofts is not very complicated," says Wiseman. "We intend a wide-open floor plan with institutional HVAC systems and the necessary air exhaust systems for certain fine arts needs, new lighting, modern accessible rest rooms and other amenities that will optimize the space for our art students.

"But most importantly," he says, "the University Lofts building can be a safer building. It is on a well-lit major road across the street from campus and close to other housing and businesses frequented by students. The building itself has a good roof, windows and exterior walls, sound stairways, solid electrical supply and a good elevator; and it does not have the safety, access and site drainage issues associated with the Reynolds Building."

The University Lofts property also includes on-site parking as well as an associated 85-space parking lot located across Bolivar Street from the Lofts. The addition of proximate parking will be a welcome amenity, as the existing Reynolds facility has extremely limited parking. Additionally, University Lofts is located adjacent to existing campus and city transit routes which will further enhance the students’ accessibility.

As well, the change in facility will benefit the instructional needs of faculty and students.

"The proposed facility on Bolivar will allow the department to plan and arrange programs in a more efficient and effective manner," says Withers. "Reynolds was more or less an ad hoc arrangement of spaces that grew without any real planning as space became available. Some of the spaces were cramped, others barely functional and took a lot of faculty time to maintain. With the new facility faculty and students should be more able to concentrate on what’s important— their teaching, learning, and creative activity."

In addition, the new facility will be able house many general education courses. "The location and condition of the University Lofts will enhance significantly the university’s new general education curriculum, which is being introduced in the fall," says Dean Michael Tick of UK College of Fine Arts. "As part of that new curriculum, thousands of students will be enrolled in Arts and Creativity classes, many of which will be offered through the Department of Art."

The move to University Lofts would not only meet the needs of those currently studying and creating in Reynolds Building No. 1, but would allow potentially even more of the department to move under one roof. It would include class space for an art studio, faculty studios, graduate studios and spaces for advanced undergraduate work. The Barnhart Gallery, the primary exhibition space for students in Reynolds Building No. 1, would also be relocated to the University Lofts structure. The location of the building on Bolivar will also make the program much more visible and accessible to the community, likely attracting potential students and arts patrons to its galleries and events, including the UK Department of Art's popular Open Studio. It is anticipated that other staff and faculty in the Department of Art may be able to move to the new facility as well.

"With the University Lofts initiative, the College of Fine Arts may be able to relocate the Department of Art’s main office, which is currently housed in the Fine Arts Building," notes Tick. "Such a move would provide space for the program in arts administration, which has grown significantly over the past couple of years. Also, with the Department of Art under one roof, we would dedicate more space to the expanding School of Music and the Department of Theatre’s new dance minor program, slated to begin this fall."

If the project goes as planned, UK students could be painting, sculpting and drawing in the renovated facility as early as the fall of 2013.

UK administration proposes not to exceed $6.7 million for acquisition of University Lofts. The university’s proposal would be to acquire and renovate the facility utilizing university funds. The estimated renovation cost is $8 million.

The budgetary rationale for taking this approach is:

1. The original budget for the renovation of Reynolds Building No. 1 was $17 million. The proposed acquisition of University Lofts ($6.7 million) and the subsequent renovation ($8 million) would total $14.7 million, resulting in a savings of $2.3 million.

2. If the university committed to a substantial renovation of Reynolds Building No. 1, the instructional space for the UK Department of Art would have to be relocated for a year to accommodate construction, resulting in lease costs of approximately $1 million. The purchase and renovation of University Lofts would avoid that cost.

3. The University Lofts is closer to the main campus than Reynolds Building No. 1 and would provide a safer environment for students who often work on projects late at night.

4. The university would convert Reynolds Building No. 1 to a storage facility that would eliminate current leases that total $150,000 annually.

5. The university has legislative authorization (House Bill 290, 2010 Legislative Session) to acquire property through a $50 million generic “Acquire Land” pool. The administration will seek authorization during the 2012 Legislative Session to renovate the facility. Half of the student housing units are already rented for the 2011-12 academic year. So the earliest the renovation could be initiated is July 2012. Assuming the university purchases the property this summer, UK would benefit from rental income for 2011-12 estimated at $200,000, net of expenses and assuming an occupancy rate of 85 percent.