A 53-acre campus expansion set for action by UT System Board of Regents
Texas Border Business
By David Diaz
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg could expand by 53 acres, and a $37.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building could grace the existing campus under key items set for action by the UT System Board of Regents when it meets in Austin on Wednesday, August 19, and Thursday, August 20, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced.
Those two items, along with the appropriation of $10 million for the UT-RGV School of Medicine and the new proposed official seal for UT-RGV and, are among local interests being monitored by the EEDC and the Edinburg City Council, which championed those measures last spring through the Texas Legislature.
The measures relating to UT-RGV are part of the regular board meeting of the UT System Board of Regents, which will be held on the ninth floor of Ashbel Smith Hall, 201 W. 7th Street in downtown Austin.
The agenda book and links to the live webcast for the meeting are posted online by logging onto: https://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/meetings/board-meeting-2015-08-19.
At the Austin meeting, the regents will be asked to authorize the recommended purchase of unimproved real property, totaling approximately 53 acres, located at the southeast quadrant of North Sugar Road and West Chapin Street, in Edinburg, from Norquest Family Holdings, Ltd., for “future campus expansion”.
According to the regents’ agenda packet, the purchasing price will be determined by fair market value as established by independent appraisals, plus all due diligence expenses, closing costs, and expenses to complete the acquisition as deemed necessary by the Executive Director of Real Estate. The appraisals are confidential pursuant to Texas Education Code Section 51.951. More is known about the $37.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building.
According to the synopsis provided by the UT System: This project will construct an approximately 77,000 GSF (gross square feet) building on the Edinburg campus for interdisciplinary space necessary to support enrollment growth in the rapidly growing region; the facility will include a large, 250-seat lecture auditorium, 150-seat lecture hall, 60-seat classrooms, and offices. Although particular emphasis will be placed on preparation of engineering students, this facility will also address flexible space requirements for other disciplines as needed.
Additionally, the project will include an outdoor pavilion to be used as a gathering area and study space to relieve pressure on more expensive indoor space and also to support academic events.
Design development plans and authorization of expenditure of funding will be presented to the Board of Regents for approval at a later date.
EEDC’s Mark Iglesias, who on Saturday, August 15, was unanimously elected President of the EEDC Board of Directors, welcomed the latest planned advances at the Edinburg UTRGV campus. “During our joint workshop with the Edinburg City Council over this past weekend, we reviewed what the EEDC, the Mayor, and the City Council, along with our state lawmakers, have done over the years to help get us to this point, and how very important UTRGV and its School of Medicine are for the economic growth and quality-of-life for our city and region,” said Iglesias.
“We are dedicated to helping create one of the best public university systems in the nation.” Mayor Richard García, during his three terms as the city’s top elected leader, has played vital roles before the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature in rallying political and financial support for UT-RGV in Edinburg.
“The UT System leadership recognizes that the future of Texas is right here in South Texas, which has one of the largest and youngest populations in the nation,” the mayor noted. “Just as important, the expansion plans by the UT System for UT-RGV are further proof that we do, indeed, have the brainpower, willpower, and strength of character to overcome all challenges and succeed. This is the message being sent to the world.”
The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Rupert as Members.
