For Aswani Volety, chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, each project in the university’s campus master plan plays a unique role in supporting UNCW’s mission.
The proposed projects range from a welcome center and new residence hall to a hotel and conference center, along with renovations to several academic buildings and upgrades to the Chancellor’s Walk, Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve and other on-campus common spaces.
“The campus master plan is designed to provide a roadmap over the next decade for growth, innovation, opportunity for students and how it relates to the community,” Volety said. “The campus master plan is supposed to support the elements in (UNCW’s) strategic plan – how do we bring those things into action?”
The UNCW Board of Trustees unanimously approved the master plan in August 2024. In the two years since, a handful of projects have started construction while others are in the planning stages.
“There are a lot of projects in design and moving into construction sometime over the next six months or so,” Volety told the Business Journal in July.
A few projects secured funding in the 2027 fiscal year state budget, which passed in July. The funding included nearly $15 million for the renovation and expansion of Cameron Hall, which houses UNCW’s Cameron School of Business, along with $9.7 million for the renovation and expansion of Kenan Auditorium and $4.5 million for the modernization of DeLoach Hall, an aging science building.
Hammerhead Hall, a 540-bed residence hall, is under construction on campus. The project, which broke ground in February, replaces Galloway Hall, which was UNCW’s first dormitory. Hammerhead Hall is expected to be completed next summer, according to Volety.
The project aims to help the university keep up with growing enrollment. Last fall, UNCW saw its largest first-year class ever, with about 3,100 new students – a nearly 13% increase from the previous year.
Projects already completed include renovations to King Hall and Alderman Hall, Volety said. Construction is also wrapping up on a new anatomy lab at Veterans Hall.
A big focus for UNCW is expanding its training for students entering healthcare fields. In the coming years, the university aims to grow its nursing program by 80%, Volety said, along with adding programs for physician assistant studies, doctoral nursing and physical therapy programs.
To accommodate that growth, the master plan calls for expanding the university’s simulation lab facilities in McNeill Hall.
UNCW also has plans to bring a new medical school to campus, following the UNC System Board of Governors’ initial approval of the proposed medical school in May. While still in the planning stages, Volety said the school would be housed in a new integrated science and technology building, which the campus master plan identifies as one of five future buildings along Chancellor’s Walk. The integrated science and technology building is in the design stage, Volety said.
University officials are also negotiating a private partnership for the development of a proposed hotel and conference center near the corner of Wagoner and Hurst drives on campus, Volety said. The master plan recommends the facility include a restaurant and pub, along with indoor and outdoor banquet and meeting spaces and a central courtyard.
A new campus welcome center is also part of the plan, Volety said. Slated for the corner of Randall and Wagoner Drive, the center would include spaces for admissions, educational outreach, career development and alumni and advancement, according to master plan documents. The building, which will also be connected to Kenan Auditorium, is expected to break ground late this year or early next year, according to Volety.
Updates to Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve are also part of the plan, including the addition of new entry points and a new outdoor classroom, along with infrastructure improvements to UNCW’s Center for Marine Science.
The phasing of the projects, Volety said, was determined based on available funding, campus need and feedback from students, faculty, staff and trustees during the plan’s development. The plan identifies other projects set to be completed in the next six to 10 years, along with others that will be a part of a full build-out.
The master plan also can be amended as campus needs change, Volety said.
“It is designed to be a living document,” he said. “You have your wish list, and you have your ideal scenario as to how things should unfold.”
Volety said he believes the projects included in the campus master plan will have ripple effects beyond UNCW’s campus. He pointed to a 2024 report that found that the university had a $1.6 billion regional economic impact.
“All of this is going to tremendously benefit this region,” he said, “not only economically but also culturally and otherwise.”
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