UNC Asheville unveils plans for major Lipinsky Hall renovation
Lipinsky Hall would gain a new performance hall, music labs and student spaces as UNC Asheville pushes ahead with library and gateway upgrades.
UNC Asheville released conceptual designs for a Lipinsky Hall renovation that would add a state-of-the-art performance hall, music technology labs, rehearsal rooms, private practice rooms, collaborative classrooms and new student gathering areas. The package also includes entrance work at Ramsey Library and new campus gateway signage.
Lipinsky Hall sits at the center of that effort. Built in 1964 as UNC Asheville’s first student union, the building once housed the cafeteria, the student radio station and gathering spaces that drew traffic to the campus core. The renovation ties to Asheville 2030 and the Centennial Campaign, which has raised nearly $72 million toward a $100 million goal. A $1 million challenge gift is helping support the Lipinsky Hall transformation. Wilson Butler Architects and ARCA Design are associated with the project, which will also upgrade faculty offices, utility systems and the building’s overall functionality.
The campus’s Ramsey Library work is already visible on the Main Quad. The project will improve accessibility at Ramsey Library, while replacing concrete walkways, ramps, plazas and retaining walls at the front of the library near the north end of the quad. The scope also includes site lighting, landscaping and electrical work. Protective fencing is in place, pedestrian routes are being affected during construction, and a university map dated May 5, 2026 shows the existing accessible entrance remains in use until the new entrance is complete.
The third piece, Campus Gateways, will add monument signage at key entrances on W.T. Weaver Boulevard and updated signage at the roundabout, with phase 1 at the intersection of W.T. Weaver Boulevard and Broadway Avenue. Work begins later in 2026. Initial funding for the concept was appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2023.
UNC Asheville’s campus operations office employs 82 professionals to keep buildings and grounds safe, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable.
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