Higher Education
Western Kentucky U., With Gilbane, Launches $350M Residential Housing Transformation
A new 1,000-bed dormitory and dining facility are part of the plan
Champaign,Ill.-based Broeren Russo Builders is named contractor for “Elevate WKU." the Western Kentucky U. public-private partnership to reimagine the residential campus in Bowling Green.
Gilbane Development is partnering with Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, on a $350-million plan to replace aging traditional dorms with facilities that group students based on similar majors, intellectual pursuits and other interests.
Champaign,Ill.-based Broeren Russo Builders has been named contractor for Elevate WKU, a public-private partnership seeking seeking to reimagine the university’s residential portfolio to improve the student experience and boost recruitment and retention. The project architect is Mackey Mitchell Architects.
The university Board of Regents and the Kentucky Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee, an entity of the state legislature, have approved the project, which the school said is the largest residential investment in its history.
These approvals allow for the financial close, anticipated to conclude in May, and set the stage for a total overhaul of the university campus housing portfolio, Gilbane said.
The first phase of Elevate WKU will include acquisition of the university’s existing housing facilities from the Student Life Foundation, a nonprofit corporation created in 1999 to own, operate and renovate student housing, and demolition of Douglas-Keen and Hugh-Poland halls, along with a nearby dining facility, to construct a roughly 1,000-bed dormitory and dining building on the same site. Groundbreaking for the 300,000-sq-ft project is set for fall, with the new facilities set to open in fall 2028.
In addition to the new construction, Gilbane will oversee other changes to existing housing facilities. The Student Life Foundation will separately be responsible for demolishing Hilltopper Hall, which has been determined to be beyond repair. Normal and Regents halls are being repaired by the foundation and by an Alabama-based non-profit corporation, Collegiate Housing Foundation, which will take title to those facilities once repaired.
The new residential hall is planned to include collaborative study lounges with integrated community hubs, purpose-built social spaces designed to foster connection, a great hall and campus dining space and Living Learning Communities in which students who share similar majors, hobbies or interests are grouped.
“At its core, this housing initiative is about students—creating and maintaining modern living‑learning environments that foster belonging, support, student success. and will strengthen the Hilltopper experience from a student’s very first day on campus and throughout the academic career,” said Geoff Eisenacher, a vice president of Gilbane Development, in a statement.
Under the structure, Western Kentucky University will enter into a ground lease with the Collegiate Housing Foundation, which will serve as owner and borrower. Inwood Management, a collegiate facility management firm, will oversee day-to-day operations and physical maintenance of the residential portfolio.
The partnership is based on a long-term, 50-year ground lease model, enabling the university to access private-sector expertise and capital while retaining strategic control over the student experience, according to Gilbane.
Students who participate in university Living Learning Communities will graduate at an 8% higher rate than those who do not, according to the school. It reported total student enrollment of about 16,000 as of fall 2025.
