The Texas A&M University System's Board of Regents has approved over $500M for various construction projects, including a research facility for space missions, a hypersonic wind tunnel, a new teaching hospital, training facility, school for learners, and campus upgrades.
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University
A rendering of the Texas A&M University Space Institute, to be built near Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Texas A&M University System's Board of Regents in November approved more than half-a-billion dollars in construction projects that will touch everything from space exploration to national defense to people's beloved pets.
"This agenda not only underscores the great needs of the state and nation," Chancellor John Sharp said. "It is only possible thanks to the foresight and commitment of our state leaders."
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University
The record-setting vote on construction items reflects the A&M System's legislative success in 2023 when a record $1.19 billion in new spending, including $775 million in new initiatives, was approved by the state.
The Legislature appropriated $200 million for the A&M System to build a one-of-a-kind research facility to assist in missions to the moon and Mars. The four-story building, to be constructed on 32 acres at the entrance of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, will include landscapes that mimic the surfaces of the moon and Mars. Each is the size of Kyle Field.
The building will include secured research "garages" for experimental robots and vehicles, lab spaces, offices, classrooms and an auditorium. Construction will begin on the Texas A&M University Space Institute, as the project is to be called, in January.
Another legislative initiative, a $10 million Hypersonic Wind Tunnel will be built at Texas A&M-RELLIS in Bryan. Providing large-scale aerodynamic testing in the range of Mach 5 to 9, the Hypersonic Wind Tunnel will become the largest academic facility of its kind in the country.
The single-story facility will complement research at the adjacent Ballistics Aero-optics and Materials (BAM) Range and the Detonation Research Test Facility. Construction began in December.
Texas A&M University is one of the largest schools of veterinary medicine, but it has outgrown its Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Designed to support a caseload of 6,000, the teaching hospital sees about 24,000 cases annually.
The board approved $181 million to build a two-story facility at the corner of Raymond Stotzer Parkway and Agronomy Road. Construction begins in January.
The board also approved:
- A $25.3 million training facility for the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), which is a provider of training and technical assistance in fire and rescue, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement, economic and workforce development, cybersecurity and homeland security. The 86-acre site at A&M-RELLIS will allow for the construction of an urban simulation grid, drive track, skills pad, props building and classrooms. The site also will eventually be the location of a future headquarters.
- A $21.69 million school for learners (ages six weeks through kindergarten) in San Antonio. The construction of Educare San Antonio will establish the first Educare school in Texas, joining a network of 25 birth-though-age 5 schools across the country. The lab-school will provide real-world experience for students at Texas A&M-San Antonio. Construction began in December.
- $10 million to support renovations to an existing softball facility and the construction of a multipurpose field and track at Texas A&M-San Antonio. Bexar County has agreed to reimburse the $10 million because the facilities will serve both the university and the community. Construction began in December.
- $7.4 million for a student dining facility at Texas A&M-Commerce. Construction began in December.
- $74.9 million for utility and HVAC upgrades on the College Station campus.
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