UNT hopes new $70M building will be a 'game-changer'

Construction on the University of North Texas' new $70 million College of Visual Arts and Design building began Tuesday in a move university officials hope will bolster the college's recruiting efforts.

Greg Watts, dean of UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design, said the school has talented faculty, students and curriculum, "but we just don't have the facilities at the level to deliver it," he said. "As a recruitment tool, this is a game-changer. We'll be state-of-the-art."

Currently, the College of Visual Arts and Design is spread across seven campus spaces. In addition to the construction of the new four-story, 145,000 gross square-foot complex, renovations will be done on the existing Art Building that's approximately 83,000 square feet.

The new building and the existing Art Building will be connected, giving the College of Visual Arts and Design a total complex of about 228,000 square feet.

The new building is slated to be ready for students by the Fall 2018 semester. Dallas-based Corgan — which also designed Chilton Hall, the Environmental Education Science and Technology Building and Gateway Center at UNT — is leading the design in association with Boston-based Machado-Silvetti. The Dallas office of AECOM Hunt will be responsible for construction.

"I think it's going to be incredibly attractive to not just the regional students, but nationally as well," Watts said. "I think this puts us in a very competitive place with peers across the country."

Evan Hoopfer is the Dallas Business Journal's digital reporter.

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