Sports Center Garage & Johnson Recreation Center expansion project underway
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2025) — Construction is underway to improve parking on South Campus through the renovation of the Sports Center Garage at the corner of Complex and Sports Center drives.
The project is a crucial step toward addressing growing parking needs, while also offsetting anticipated parking losses associated with the Chandler Hospital expansion project.
The $115 million capital construction initiative — recently approved by the Kentucky General Assembly — will also improve student recreational facilities.
Developed by Signet Real Estate Group, the expansion is the result of a public-private partnership that will add 1,200 parking spaces to the garage, as well as an estimated 40,000 square-feet to the Johnson Center.
Once completed, the garage and the recreation center will be physically connected by an overhead pedestrian bridge.
The garage portion of the project consists of a one-level vertical expansion of the existing structure and a five-level horizontal expansion to the west.
Additionally, the Johnson Center expansion will feature new spaces on the building’s north and south sides, along with renovations throughout.
Upgrades are expected to include:
- a multi-purpose activity court,
- an expanded weightlifting area with an outdoor lifting space,
- larger fitness zones,
- outdoor pickleball courts
- and a new 60-foot-tall climbing wall with a dedicated bouldering section for advanced climbers.
The updated facility will also feature a Shake Smart location for convenient healthy eating — as well as upgraded HVAC and life safety systems.
Construction for the Johnson Center is expected to be completed by December 2026.
While these changes may temporarily displace certain recreational spaces, Campus Recreation is actively working to ensure those who are impacted have access to alternative facilities during this time.
You can stay informed through the Campus Recreation website.
To support construction and ensure the garage is completed before the start of the Fall 2026 semester, the garage will close starting Monday, May 12 and will remain closed during each of the next two summers (2025 and 2026). The garage will, however, reopen for the fall and spring semesters with minimal disruptions from ongoing work.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.