The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved nearly $1.9 billion in new construction and renovation projects, marking one of the most significant campus development initiatives in the university’s history. The decision, part of the 2026–2030 Capital Plan, underscores the growing demand for modern facilities as enrollment pressures continue across the system.
The Capital Plan totals $6.6 billion, which includes $4.6 billion for previously approved projects already in the design or early construction phases. Of the new $1.925 billion allocation, over $600 million will go directly to the flagship College Station campus, with the remainder spread across system schools such as A&M Galveston, Tarleton State, and the RELLIS campus.
Key projects for College Station include:
Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer Maria Robinson emphasized the significance of the plan:
“In total, there are 830.6 million dollars of projects proposed to be initiated in the upcoming fiscal year. Approval of the Capital Plan will permit the system members to proceed with pre-construction services for those projects… so they can work on things like architecture, engineering, site preparation and demolition if applicable.”
University leadership highlighted that the new biology and arts facilities are among the most urgent priorities. A&M President Mark A. Welsh III explained the reasoning behind the biology building investment:
“The biology programs at A&M have been a tremendous success story for decades, but the biology facilities on campus have aged to the point now where they are simply inadequate for teaching… This new state of the art facility will keep this great department on the leading edge of the field, which is exactly where they deserve to be.”
Welsh also noted that the new arts and innovation center would relieve space shortages across campus:
“Consolidating VPFA in this building will open up space in at least six different buildings on campus where their faculty, staff and classrooms are currently located. It allows for the consolidation of people and activities from several other colleges that are also space limited.”
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Beyond classrooms, the Regents also focused on student life and infrastructure needs. Welsh acknowledged that overcrowding has strained resources:
“Many of them are in many more 400 person classrooms than you’d like them to be in, in core courses. Many of them are living downtown as freshmen because we can’t put them on campus; we don’t have enough dorm space. Many of them are going off-campus to eat meals because we don’t have enough dining space for them, or enough dining facility hours… We did not build the infrastructure to support all that, we just didn’t.”
Regent Bob Albritton raised concerns about investing such a large sum while enrollment remains capped:
“We say we have to have this, for this, this and this, yet we’ve frozen enrollment. How are we educating these kids now? How are they getting through without this $1.9 billion of improvements?”
Projects outside of College Station will also see significant investment. At A&M Galveston, funds will go toward dock infrastructure improvements. Tarleton State University will add a new innovation lab, while the RELLIS campus will receive general infrastructure upgrades.
Welsh stressed that these projects are not just about immediate needs but about planning for A&M’s long-term role in Texas higher education:
“This plan gets us to the five-year point, we believe, with the ability to then say, ‘Okay, how big does Texas A&M need to be for the state of Texas?’, that’s the goal. If all of this happens, it goes a long way to solving the problems.”
The approved projects are expected to break ground over the next fiscal year, with major facilities like the biology building and arts center scheduled to open before the end of the decade.
Originally reported by David Swope, Associate News Editor in The Battalion.
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