The next major construction project at High Point University in High Point, N.C., will be a new library.
The Greensboro News & Record reports that the university plans to open the $80 million facility in 2024, in time for the university's 100th anniversary.
The four-story building will house books, digital resources, private study spaces and an art gallery. It also will have space for a new admissions center, which now occupies a separate space on campus.
At 160,000 square feet, the new building will become the university's main library. It will replace the Smith Library, which opened in 1984 and has less than a third of the square footage of the new library.
High Point said in a news release it plans to build the new library on campus on the site of the Norcross Graduate School building, which stands near the Millis Athletic and Convocation Center.
A new library and admissions center are part of a 10-year, $1 billion growth plan that the university unveiled in 2019.
High Point said it plans to use most of the money it raises, about $700 million, to increase the university's endowment substantially so it can award more student scholarships.
The rest will go toward new facilities. Enrollment hit a record 5,600 this fall.
Over the next decade the university hopes to erect more academic and athletics buildings as well as new residence halls and dining facilities.
Once the new library is open, a High Point spokeswoman says the university plans to use the existing Smith Library and Wrenn Admissions Building for some student services offerings and faculty and staff offices.
The university also is expected to complete work this summer on a $130 million project with three venues: a new sports arena, a conference center and a 30-room hotel.
The 4,500-seat arena will be the new home court for High Point's men's and women's basketball team.
