As of late 2016, UTRGV has been expanding both of its main campuses with three new buildings: the Brownsville Interdisciplinary Academic Building (BINAB), the Brownsville Music, Science & Learning Center (BMSLC), and the Edinburg Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building (IEASB).
The BMSLC, located east of Main Building, is expected to be completed in 2018, and will cost about $54 million. It will be used for general academics, science labs and study space for students.
The BINAB is being built on the existing parking lot directly across from the Main Building. Its cost is estimated at $36 million.
Both buildings are being financed through tuition revenue bond proceeds. TRBs are bonds that are repaid by the state. The MPAC will provide instructional space for multiple areas of study, with a focus on physics, and will be completed in January 2019. The loss of parking will be offset by the newly constructed lot located across the Casa Bella student housing complex.
The IEASB, located west of the University Library and north of the Student Union on the Edinburg campus, is also set for completion in January 2019. The IEASB will provide classrooms and computer labs primarily for STEM students. At a cost of about $35 million, the IEASB is financed primarily by TRB proceeds. Unlike the buildings being constructed on the Brownsville campus, it received additional funding from the Permanent University Fund (PUF), which is a public endowment.
The Brownsville construction sites did not acquire this funding since it would not have been enough for all three buildings under construction.
The ongoing construction of the Academic Building in Brownsville, and the IEASB are affecting students and staff alike. In Edinburg, students have complained about getting to the Student Union, as well as determining whether the eateries inside were open. To solve this, Marta Salinas-Hovar, the associate vice president for Facilities Planning and Operations, said the university installed signs to direct and inform students.
Problems similar to this have risen on the Brownsville campus as well. The construction of the MPAC, which resulted in a loss of parking space, has evoked a fairly strong response from the campus community.
The main concerns are traffic and the long walk from the new lot to campus.
“ … While it may be a little bit of a distance for them to walk, it’s really not very far because it is right across from the student housing and adjacent to the other parking lot that is right there on the campus as well. We worked really hard to mitigate any serious issues,” Salinas-Hovar said.
Additionally, the Vaquero Express Campus Shuttle stop that is outside the Casa Bella clubhouse will also be used to transport students, faculty and staff to the campus if needed.
UTRGV plans to have the STARGATE radio frequency technology park completed by early to mid-October. UTRGV is leasing the land from SpaceX, which is building a rocket launch site at Boca Chica Beach.
