The Marquette University Board of Trustees Thursday approved moving ahead with the first phase of the university's new $100 million College of Engineering facility.
The first phase will involve construction of a five-story, 100,000 square foot building on the south side of Wisconsin Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets. Preparation of the site has begun with soil testing and environmental demolition work on the interior of four university-owned apartment buildings.
Marquette president Robert A. Wild, S.J., said the university expects to break ground for the new building in spring 2010 with initial occupancy planned for August 2011.
The structure will feature a Discovery Learning Laboratory and a two-story engineering materials and structural testing laboratory, as well as other new teaching and research laboratories, common areas for students and office space.
"With $25 million cash in hand and pledges of $10 million we expect to receive over the next two years, the board expressed confidence in our ability to move forward," Wild said. The university has more than $68 million of the projected $100 million cost of the total project pledged and will continue aggressive fundraising to complete the entire project as soon as possible, he said.
The initial structure will be linked to a future, 150,000-square-foot building that will include classrooms, offices and additional laboratories.
"I'm confident that we will raise the full $100 million cost of the project - and I'm committed to doing so," said Marquette opus dean Stan Jaskolski. "We need more engineers, and we need a facility where students, faculty and our industry and educational partners can come together to problem solve and design solutions. This new facility is being explicitly designed for collaboration at multiple levels. It is truly a gift to the Milwaukee region, taking advantage of our urban location and providing space for innovation and idea sharing."
Opus North Corporation is the design/build firm for the project.
Over the past summer, Marquette had more than $130 million of construction underway.
Construction to begin on Marquette's new engineering center
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