The future site of Kiewit Hall, near the corner of 17th and Vine streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus, is seen under construction June 28, 2021.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
The future site of Kiewit Hall, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's new engineering building set to open in 2023, is seen under construction in late June. Abel and Sandoz residence halls stand in the background.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
The future site of Kiewit Hall, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's new engineering building set to open in 2023, is seen under construction Monday. Abel and Sandoz residence halls stand in the background.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
The future Kiewit Hall will rise near 17th and Vine streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's City Campus.
There are already two holes in the ground where the future Kiewit Hall will rise near 17th and Vine streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's City Campus.
The 181,500-square-foot facility will redefine the College of Engineering's footprint at UNL when it opens to students in the fall of 2023 as a new hub for engineering education.
On Monday, UNL ceremonially broke ground on the privately funded $97 million facility, which is part of a larger effort to renovate engineering facilities as part of a plan to grow the college from 3,200 to 5,000 students.
"It is a big day for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the state of Nebraska, and the field of engineering," Chancellor Ronnie Green told a reception inside Othmer Hall, which will connect to Kiewit Hall via skywalk.
Construction on the facility is expected to ramp up this fall as work continues at the Link, the connection between the Scott Engineering Center and Nebraska Hall which is undergoing a $75 million expansion.
Taken together, both College of Engineering projects account for $172 million of renovation and new construction at UNL's City Campus.
Kiewit Hall is also the most expensive academic facilities project in UNL's 152-year history, Green said.
That distinction was previously held by UNL's College of Business, which opened its new 240,000-square-foot facility to students in 2017.
Like the $84 million Hawks Hall, named for former Regent Howard Hawks of Omaha, a UNL business college alum, Kiewit Hall will be paid for through private donations, including a $20 million lead gift from the Omaha-based engineering and construction firm.
The future site of Kiewit Hall, near the corner of 17th and Vine streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus, is seen under construction June 28, 2021.
The future site of Kiewit Hall, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's new engineering building set to open in 2023, is seen under construction in late June. Abel and Sandoz residence halls stand in the background.
The future site of Kiewit Hall, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's new engineering building set to open in 2023, is seen under construction Monday. Abel and Sandoz residence halls stand in the background.