USC reshapes campus with hundreds of millions in construction: What to know

The University of South Carolina is in the middle of a building boom, with projects ranging from a new residence hall to a reimagined student union in various stages of planning, design and construction across Columbia.

Since March, the university has approved new projects and broken ground on others, including many that are part of the school’s ambitious 10-year master plan.

Here are key takeaways:

• In March, USC held a ribbon cutting for its new 65,000-square-foot Brain Health Center, located near Prisma Health Richland Hospital in the BullStreet District. The center, which houses the state’s only 7-Tesla MRI scanner, offers advanced diagnostics for Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive conditions.
• The state’s Joint Bond Review Committee in March approved a $55 million renovation of the 86-year-old McKissick Building, which will be reconfigured into a “hub of campus activity,” with classrooms, common study areas and a modernized visitors center. Construction could begin as soon as fall 2026, with reopening expected by August 2028.
• Demolition of the 70-year-old McBryde residence hall began in early May, clearing the way for a new 900-bed dorm that will open in fall 2028 as part of a $185 million student housing project.
• USC’s medical school was recently renamed the Kay and C. Edward Floyd, M.D. School of Medicine, honoring the late longtime trustee and his wife, who gave more than $30 million to the university. The School of Medicine is in the process of relocating to a new 300,000-square-foot facility in Columbia’s BullStreet District. The new medical education and research facility, which will be part of USC’s 16-acre Health Sciences Campus, is expected to be completed in August 2027.
• USC’s board of trustees voted June 19 to move forward with plans to expand and renovate the Russell House student union, a multiphase project that could take up to five years and will be funded with state bonds financed by a new $150-per-semester student fee.
• Trustees on June 19 also advanced plans for a new civil rights center on the site of the former Booker T. Washington High School campus, an estimated $24.4 million project expected to take three to four years.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.