ASU plans to begin construction on a $160 million research facility next month, the most expensive building in University history.
The 293,000-square-foot facility will house more than 160 labs — including 81 labs capable of biological and chemical experiments and 73 labs for computer analysis and applied mathematics — 60 faculty offices and a 250-seat auditorium.
The School of Earth and Space Exploration, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will share the facility, which will be constructed on Lot 44, south of the Biodesign Institute on the southeast corner of the Tempe campus.
The Industrial Science and Technology Building IV, approved in September by the Arizona Board of Regents and the Joint Committee on Capital Review, is waiting for the Office of Business and Finance to finalize the construction contract.
Richard Stanley, ASU senior vice president and University planner, said the facility would be funded by money from existing and future research grants, as well as from research projects expiring in 2010.
“The funding assumption is based on both money already coming in from current research and then the new research projects we will get because of this building,” he said.
Construction is projected to take 24 months and could begin as early as next month. The building is expected to be in use by fall 2012.
“I think the main point to understand is that there will be no money for tuition in the financing plan for this building,” said Morgan Olsen, ASU executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Olsen said the new facility is necessary for the University’s growth and will allow ASU to recruit new faculty while improving both ASU’s reputation and revenue stream.
“This is a necessary investment in ASU’s evolution as a major research institution,” he said. “It needs to expand the opportunities for its faculties, staff and students as it’s developed in areas of groundbreaking research, areas that are really important to the country and planet in general.”
ASU officials first planned the new building in 2008 to account for the dramatic growth in research activity at the University. Research expenditures increased 80 percent from the 2001-2002 academic year to 2006-2007, rising to $219 million.
After ABOR approved the project in September 2008, the economic downturn delayed its progress.
“It’s taken as much time as it has because we wanted to be careful in terms of the economy,” Olsen said. “We’ve had tight budgets, so we wanted to make sure we had a plan that could fund this building without putting pressure on students.”
Because of the economic situation, ASU will keep a close eye on the building’s progression, Stanley said.
“This is a substantial project and we will evaluate all aspects of the University’s financial situation in the months leading up to the project,” he said.
Reach the reporter at joseph.schmidt@asu.edu
