Home Business UK’s Cornerstone emerges as a link between campus and the Lexington community

UK’s Cornerstone emerges as a link between campus and the Lexington community

Kennedy’s Bookstore was demolished to make room for The Cornerstone, a six-story development with 900 new parking spots, on the corner of S. Limestone and Winslow Street.

“I describe it as our front porch to the community,” says Melody J. Flowers, UK’s Executive Director for Strategic Analysis & Policy.

The Cornerstone developed for parking, but emerged as a gateway to innovation, linking the university with the community of Lexington. The new development incorporates an innovation lab, a gaming lounge and food hall. 

The innovation lab features collaborative working environments and high end technology to support remote distance learning. Flowers jokes it’s like “Zoom and collaborative white boards together on steroids.” Garage style doors within the innovation lab open onto Winslow Street, transforming the indoor space into an outdoor one.

The gamers’ lounge includes 50 PC gaming stations and three console gaming areas, along with a 100-seat multi-use theater that can host 6v6 esports tournaments, classes, presentations and more. 

With The Cornerstone’s goal to be a multifunctional space, the gamers’ lounge serves as a classroom for courses like game development, game theory, and game design when it’s not in use as a pay-to-play lounge.

The new development offers 900 additional parking spaces that connect with the pre-existing spaces, totaling about 2400 parking spots in that garage.  

In January, the rest of the food hall in The Cornerstone opens. Cup of Commonwealth opened in November, but other vendors to join include Ethereal Brewing, Rolling Oven Pizza, Miyako Poke Bowl, and a new ice cream and juice concept from Tomo Sushi.

What might be most distinctive to The Cornerstone is its 55-foot-tall exterior digital wall, which is the first of its kind in Lexington. UK is seeking artwork for the digital wall based on two themes—Black Lives in the Bluegrass and Kentucky Confronting COVID-19.

All artists from anywhere in the state are welcome to submit, whether affiliated or non-affiliated with UK. Works submitted may include digital photographs, illustrations, scans, and other still digital content. An individual artist may submit one still image to each of the two open call series. The deadline to submit is February 8, 2021.
 
The innovation lab and Esports facilities on the first floor of The Cornerstone are now open, in addition to the parking garage. The space is open to both the UK community and the public.
 
 

 

—

The Cornerstone appears in A Look Back at 2020 on page 11 of the December 2020 print edition of ace magazine.

Subscribe to the Ace e-dition for Lexington news, arts, culture, food, and entertainment news delivered to your inbox.

Call today to advertise in Ace, 859.225.4889

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR