After years of construction, Johns Hopkins University’s $250 million Bloomberg Student Center will begin opening in phases on Monday — the first day of fall semester classes – but it won’t be open to the general public at the start.
University officials announced that the multi-level building at 3290 N. Charles St. will open initially to “affiliates,” including students and faculty members – as crews put the finishing touches on the building and grounds.
“A phased opening of student center spaces and amenities is planned through the first year of operations,” states the JHU Hub, the university’s online news source.
Food service and dining operations “will open to students and university affiliates later in the fall semester, and portions of the building will open to neighbors from the surrounding community at a date to be determined after the building and its amenities are fully operational,” the Hub said.
The initial event will be a “First Look Celebration” on Monday that will show students what’s coming. Other kickoff events will continue throughout the first week.
The student center is named after Hopkins graduate and benefactor Michael Bloomberg — Class of 1964, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and former mayor of New York City.
It was built to provide a “non-academic gathering spot” for the Hopkins community, which didn’t have a traditional student union. It contains areas for socializing, arts programs, dining, student resources and support services. Spaces include a Creative Media Center, Black Box Theater, reservable multi-purpose rooms and offices for student organizations.
In July, Hopkins disclosed that the student center will have six dining options, including offshoots of The Urban Oyster, Koshary Corner and Connie’s Chicken and Waffles. Baltimore’s liquor board granted a license for a 96-seat restaurant called Mo’s Place, named after Morris Offit, a 1957 Hopkins graduate and former Board of Trustees chair, and operated by Hopkins graduate Timothy Ma. A stretch of Charles Street that had been closed for construction for four years was reopened earlier this month.
The 150,000-square-foot building is one of the first in Baltimore to feature heavy timber construction – a process in which large wooden beams form the structural framework instead of steel beams or poured concrete. It replaces two structures that occupied its footprint, Mattin Center and Whitehead Hall. It had a ceremonial groundbreaking in August of 2021 and construction began in the Winter of 2022. A topping-off ceremony took place in May of 2024.
The building was designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), with interior architecture by the Rockwell Group, Michael Van Valkenburgh as the landscape architect, and Shepley Bulfinch as the architect of record. Clark Construction is the lead contractor. It’s Baltimore’s first building by BIG, known for its environmentally-friendly designs.
The phased roll-out is intended to give Hopkins and its contractors time to complete construction of the student center and make sure it’s functioning well before opening it to the general public.
“We are still intending to eventually open it larger,” associate vice provost for strategic student initiatives Lee Hawthorne told The Johns Hopkins News Letter. “But since we’ve never had a place on campus like this and with the porosity of the building and multiple entries and exits, we felt like we needed to learn how students use this building before we open the doors for the community. The intention is to learn how to operate it.”
“We cannot wait for our students – from all across the university – to walk through those doors and experience the new student center,” the Hub quoted vice provost of student affairs Rachelle Hernandez as saying. “Our students have wanted a space like this for some time, a place where they can meet up with friends, be creative and relax. This has truly been a universitywide effort, with engagement from students, alumni, donors, faculty and staff – and we think our students are going to be blown away.”
