Simmons College of Kentucky, a Historically Black College (HBCU) in Louisville, is planning to convert a former church into a facility for STEAM programs.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that transforming the former Christ the King Church in West Louisville into a higher education facility will cost $32 million, and college officials hope to have it ready for students in 2028.
Once completed, the building will be equipped with medical labs, computer-aided design labs, an aviation simulation lab, performing arts space and more, Simmons College Chief of Staff Myra Rock said.said.
The new campus, dubbed a "STEAM hub," will house programs focused on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Rock said the campus will focus particularly on four academic categories: aviation, engineering, performing arts and medicine.
The Archdiocese of Louisville announced earlier this year that it would close the Christ the King Parish and donate the 34,000-square-foot building to Simmons College for educational use.
Simmons College officials are focused on planning, fundraising and conducting structural and architectural evaluations of the facility, Rock said.
The college is in the midst of fundraising efforts through the William J. Simmons Foundation — the entity charged with managing the school's endowment and restricted capital project funds.
