Texas A&M System Regents Approve Nine Construction Projects
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Thursday approved nine critical construction projects on campuses throughout the System. The list of approved projects includes the new headquarters for the Texas Transportation Institute, which will be constructed at the main entrance of the System’s new RELLIS Campus.
“I would like to thank our Board of Regents for their support and their vision in approving these important projects, which will enhance our ability to serve and educate Texans throughout the state,” said Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp.
Located on 2,000 acres of what currently is largely underdeveloped real estate adjacent to State Highways 47 and 21, the Texas A&M RELLIS Education and Research Campus will be a high-tech, multi-institutional research, testing and workforce development campus. The new $70 million TTI headquarters building will be a prominent, visual symbol of the RELLIS campus a viewed from Highway 21 traveling east or west. This dynamic research and office facility will provide a highly creative and collaborative environment for advancing transportation research.
A new $127.5 million Dentistry Clinical Education Facility for the Texas A&M University College of Dentistry in Dallas was also approved. The state-of-the-art, patient-centered clinical training facility will increase the college’s ability to provide state-of-the-art dental care to underserved populations and to train students from underrepresented communities. The additional space will enable the college to increase its enrollment by approximately 25 percent.
The regents also approved a $32 million Academic and Student Services Building for Texas A&M University-Texarkana that will house much-needed classrooms and laboratories to meet the needs of the school’s expanding enrollments, particularly in nursing and health fields, as well as science, technology, engineering, and math courses. A nearly $61 million Education Complex at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, which will provide rehearsal and performance spaces that are needed to retain accreditation of the university’s music degree program through the National Association of Schools of Music, also received the green light.
Other projects that received approval on Thursday include capital improvements at Prairie View A&M University, energy conservation measures at Prairie View and Tarleton State University, and necessary renovations to existing facilities at West Texas A&M University.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
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(979) 458-6425
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