Belmont University plans to add a six-story building to its campus that will house its new data science initiative and its entrepreneurship hub.
Belmont is dubbing it "The 3-D Building," standing for data, design and discovery. In an email to faculty and staff, President Greg Jones said the six-story building "will serve multiple functions and has one main goal — to be the new 'front door' of the university."
The top two floors will house the new Belmont Data Collaborative (more on that here), as well as the university's Thomas F. Cone Sr. Center for Entrepreneurship and "state-of-the-art collaboration workspaces" and "transformative innovation spaces," according to Jones' email.
In an August interview, Jones said Belmont would invest $60 million over five years in the new data program, including hiring faculty and staff and construction of a building. To lead the new program, Belmont plucked Charlie Apigian from Middle Tennessee State University, where he had founded that school's Data Science Institute.
A new university welcome center will be located on the first floor of The 3-D Building. Admissions offices and other space will be on the second floor. Faculty offices and classrooms will be on the middle two floors of the building.
In total, the building will contain 133,000 square feet of space. Belmont hopes to begin construction in 2022, and filed plans for Metro approval just days ago.
The building would rise on an acre of land on 15th Avenue South, between the university's College of Law and its dining hall.
