On Nov.12, Georgia State University unveiled its newest transformation project. As part of its strategic plan to make a “college town downtown,” Georgia State University was awarded an $80 million gift from the Woodruff Foundation. The gift marks the largest received in the university’s history.
“The Woodruff Foundation, one of Georgia’s greatest philanthropic institutions and one of downtown’s most important partners is entrusting our University System of Georgia colleagues and us to act boldly over the next two years to realize a new vision for our downtown campus,” said University President Brian Blake. “We are grateful for their support and partnership in sharing this vision for a downtown college town.”
The plan for the gift takes a three-pronged approach, aiming to improve infrastructure around campus, define the campus and drive activity to its core. Recently the university has made some moves towards accomplishing these goals by upgrading lightning on campus, improving parking decks, installing emergency telephones, starting a new ambassador program and more.
The GSU Blue Line is one of the projects already underway earlier this year. According to the university, the goal of the Blue Line is to foster engagement in key areas, create a memorable and recognizable pathway, generate lasting value for the city, and establish a foundation for future placemaking investments.
However, with this new gift from the Woodruff Foundation, much larger steps are looking to be made to transform Georgia State University into a “college town downtown.” Arguably, the most shocking news was the plan to tear down Sparks Hall to connect the greenspace to Hurt Park.
In a mockup released by the university, the entirety of the building is set to be removed to make way for an extended, amphitheater-style area within the Greenspace and a revamped Arts and Humanities Building. These changes, alongside the conversion of the recently acquired 100 Edgewood Building into a dining and updated classroom space aim to create a centralized “panther quad” within the university’s downtown campus.
“The idea is to create this very comfortable walk between our 25 Park Place plaza and the Aderhold Building,” shared University Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Abramson. “We want to make Woodruff Park a true community space that’s even more open and welcoming to students.”
Moving away from the changes to the Greenspace, the university additionally announced a string of updates to the parking garages on campus as well as Hurt Park. These changes attempt to improve issues like pedestrian safety by providing new sidewalks and renovations to Woodruff Park’s streetcar location to help with pedestrian flow.
“With these series of investments, we can truly have the campus that we have always wanted,” said Abramson.
A starting date for these projects has yet to be announced. However, the university has shared that they are hoping to complete all of these changes by 2026.
