Drake University will begin renovations on the Olmsted Center in late May as part of The Ones campaign.
After the completion of the Johansen Student Center in January 2025, Drake is turning its attention towards Olmsted. The goal of the renovations is to make Olmsted a more welcoming space for Drake students and campus visitors by fall of 2025.
Venessa Macro, chief administration officer at Drake, said the renovations are intended “primarily to revitalize the space and make it more welcoming for students, faculty, staff and, of course, visitors.”
With many Olmsted offices, including the Student Life Center, moving to Johansen at the beginning of the spring 2025 semester, there are more open spaces that Drake plans to transform into collaborative spaces for students. This would be in addition to other planned collaborative spaces in Olmsted, including two offices in the basement across from Underground Fitness and a group space outside of the Bulldog Shop. With offices on the north and south of Starbucks, those spaces are set to become places for students to study and collaborate.
Macro said that students enjoy collaborative spaces, pointing out that when buildings such as Collier-Scripps and the Science Connector Building were constructed, those spaces were added as part of that project.
“Whenever we do a renovation or revitalization of a building, we know that social spaces, collaborative spaces, are really important,” Macro said.
Drake President Marty Martin said donors have the resources for the upcoming Olmsted remodel and are eager for work to start in May. The donors are associated with The Ones campaign, which has been the driving force behind recent building renovations at Drake, he said. Renovations to Meredith Hall, the Knapp Center and, most recently, the Johansen Student Center, have all been funded in part by The Ones.
Outside of academic buildings, The Ones contributed to the construction of Mediacom Stadium and the Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt Boys and Girls Club.
According to Martin, the renovations to Olmsted will help students prepare for the world beyond Drake.
“It’s really about supporting you and your fellow students and your journey to success so that when you walk across that graduation stage, you’re ready for what comes next,” Martin said.
Martin said that since this is a smaller project and most of the work will take place while most students are gone, there won’t be as much communication regarding Olmsted’s construction, compared to the work done on Johansen while classes were in progress.
Employees who work in Olmsted share a positive outlook on the upcoming renovation. Kyle McVay, an employee at the Drake Bulldog Shop since the fall of 2020, thinks Olmsted has needed the upcoming renovations for a long time. As part of the renovation, the Bulldog Shop will get updated flooring and lighting and have an overall better presence in Olmsted.
“Some of the concepts that we’re coming up with to get us more glass and more visuals to the other side of the building, I think will be a positive to lead to more traffic,” McVay said.
Previous renovations to Olmsted
This is not the first time that Olmsted has undergone construction. In 2019, the coffee shop in Olmsted was renovated and replaced by an officially licensed Starbucks. It now serves as a popular hangout spot for students on Drake’s campus.
Other additions to Olmsted include the Drake Bulldog Shop in the fall of 2016, moving from its previous location on Forest Avenue and becoming more accessible to students. Underground Fitness was another addition to Olmsted, opening in January 2012, providing students with a new place to exercise outside of the Bell Center.
Macro said that while the renovations to Olmsted would be mostly complete by the beginning of the fall 2025 semester, there some minor work will continue through October 2025.
