Texas A&M University officials shared new details Thursday afternoon in the development of their research campus coming to downtown Fort Worth.
A&M Chancellor John Sharp said construction will begin soon on Texas A&M-Fort Worth, the name they've selected for the three-building complex to be built near the Fort Worth Convention Center and Fort Worth Water Gardens, on the same site as the existing Texas A&M School of Law.
Texas A&M-Fort Worth is planned to offer a range of programs from Texas A&M University, Tarleton State University, and several A&M System agencies.
“A top-10 public research institution ensures Fort Worth’s future is rooted in the next economy driven by an educated workforce, whether it be lawyers, engineers, health care professionals or technology workers whose jobs don’t even exist today,” said Sharp. “Thanks to our partners, the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the Texas A&M System is investing in a unique public-private sector endeavor that will be a magnet for economic growth for the North Texas region.”
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Sharp said Thursday that construction on Texas A&M-Fort Worth will begin later this summer on the first building, the Law & Education Building. The addition is expected to be completed in 2025 and will be financed with bonds backed by the Permanent University Fund and other unnamed sources.
The other two facilities at Texas A&M-Fort Worth, the Research and Innovation building and the Gateway conference center and offices, will be financed with city-issued bonds secured by leases to the A&M System and private sector development firms.
The university said in a statement Thursday that the "unique financing system will allow the campus to be constructed in about a third of the 15 years it would take for the A&M System to do it alone."
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Start dates for the Research and Innovation building and Gateway conference center and offices have not been announced.
Fort Worth, according to a statement released Thursday, is the largest city in the state that does not have a significant presence by a large public research university. Two years ago city and county officials were joined by local business leaders in inviting the university to bring a research facility to Cowtown.
In November 2021, the university announced plans to build a top-tier research campus on its land downtown -- a development at the time dubbed "Aggieland North."
The planned research campus will include a high-rise complex that will house classrooms, labs, research and "maker" spaces that can be used by the public and private sectors for academic programs, workforce training and collaborative research.
Sharp said Stantec will serve as the architect of record for the Law & Education building with design architect Pelli Clarke & Partners assisting with labs. Construction management teams include Turner Construction Company, CARCON Industries, Source Building Group Inc., and Dikita Enterprises.
