UAB breaks ground on new Arts and Sciences Building

The state-of-the-art $39.5 million building, which will be located on the corner of 10th Avenue South and 14th Street South, is a result of the rapid growth of UAB’s undergraduate and graduate programs.

Written by: Tiffany Westry

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cas renderingUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham leaders broke ground on a new 116,000-square-foot Arts and Sciences Building today that is expected to open fall 2019. The new $39.5 million project is located on the corner of 10th Avenue South and 14th Street South.

“As a result of the rapid growth of our undergraduate and graduate programs, and the limitations of the Humanities Building, we proposed the construction of a new Arts and Sciences Building to better serve the students of UAB,” said Robert Palazzo, Ph.D., dean of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences. “This new building will provide our campus community with a state-of-the-art facility in which they can work and learn. It will complete the quadrant of high-end buildings around the Green, allow for cohesiveness and convenience, and promote a safe and efficient campus for our students, faculty and staff.”

The new building will replace the UAB Humanities Building, which has served the college’s growing student population for more than 45 years. It will be home to the departments of Anthropology, Computer and Information Sciences, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Mathematics, Philosophy, and Social Work. The building will also include a 300-seat auditorium, performance space, administrative support offices and a storm shelter.

The UAB College of Arts and Sciences serves more than 50 percent of UAB students through one of its 29 majors and 19 departments. All freshmen, regardless of their majors, are taught by Arts and Sciences faculty for their core classes. The college also offers more than 30 baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved stage 4 of planning for the building Sept. 15.

Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc., in Birmingham will serve as architect. M.J. Harris Construction Services, based in Birmingham, has been awarded the facility’s construction contract. The building is expected to open in fall 2019. Follow the progress of the project.

For more information about how to support the new UAB Arts and Sciences Building, contact Senior Director of Development Camille Epps at 205-996-2154 or camilleepps@uab.edu.