Construction for the University of Kansas’ new entrepreneurship building will begin this summer after Chancellor Doug Girod, KU School of Business and Endowment leaders and donors broke ground at a ceremonial event Friday afternoon.
The building will be more than 29,000 square feet and home to KU’s new entrepreneurship program for students of all academic backgrounds.
The building is expected to be completed in fall of 2027 and likely open for classes in spring of 2028.
“It’s come together as a universitywide project. The beauty of a project like this is that it’s a meeting point for all those great minds to come together,” KU School of Business Dean Jide Wintoki said. “You need great business minds to do great business, but you don’t need business minds to have great ideas.”
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The Hub will have three floors designed to mirror a student’s progress and learning as an entrepreneur. The first floor is for “open play,” with a lab, event space and open collaboration space. The second floor is for formal instruction and the third floor for “deep diving,” with a content creation studio and outdoor terrace.
Girod said the Hub will help further KU’s economic impact by investing in students’ learning through innovation and collaboration.
“I would like to be a fly on the wall when kids start to fill this building and hear their stories and ideas,” Girod said. “We think you’re going to be absolutely thrilled with what you see as this project comes out of the ground.”
Business school leaders said the Hub is for more than just those studying business, citing that 70% of students in the entrepreneurship program at KU are nonbusiness majors.
“Entrepreneurship thrives when diverse minds come together,” Wintoki said. “Mentorship, collaboration and experiential learning are at the heart of the Hub. Students will learn from working alongside their peers of different disciplines.”
The Hub is entirely donor-funded, including $10 million from an anonymous donor for project startup. The project is estimated to cost $21 million.
Donor and KU alum John Hill said the program will prepare students to be future leaders and innovators.
“It’ll provide another generation a way to learn and experiment with new ideas and make their mark in life,” Hill said. “It’s a wonderful time for Kansas to embark on this opportunity.”
The previous building at 1420 Crescent Road was home of the Jayhawk Bookstore for decades prior to the store closing in 2016. McLain’s operated at the location for five years before closing in 2023.
The building was demolished promptly following the Historic Resources Commission’s approval in July.
Renderings of the Hub can be found here.
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Maya Smith (she/her), reporting intern, has worked with The Lawrence Times since February 2026. She was born and raised in Lawrence and is a journalism student at the University of Kansas. She works at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as a communications assistant and has been a freelance reporter for the Kansas Reflector since 2024. Read her work for the Times at this link.
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