In the coming years, the University of Michigan’s School of Information will move from Central Campus to North Campus to share a new state-of-the-art facility with the College of Engineering’s Computer Science and Engineering division.
The $145 million, 163,000-square-foot addition to the Bob and Betty Beyster Building was approved Feb. 20 by the Board of Regents. The addition will be built on the west side of the current building at 2260 Hayward St.
The new facility will become the School of Information’s home and provide expansion space for CSE. It will include active learning classrooms, flexible dry research labs, and office and student service spaces intended to enable both units to fulfill their respective missions and support interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
“We’re tremendously excited about the opportunity to co-locate and collaborate with many of our partners on North Campus, including the College of Engineering and the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design,” School of Information Dean Thomas A. Finholt said.
“UMSI has been growing at a rapid pace over the past few years, with the addition of a new residential master’s degree, an upper-division undergraduate degree and an online master’s degree. This new space will support these new students and faculty, as well as strengthen our existing partnerships with other North Campus schools and colleges.”
The project is part of the university’s capital outlay request to the state of Michigan and has received preliminary planning authorization from the state Legislature. When a project is made possible through the capital outlay process, the investment is shared between the university and the state.
After receiving legislative approval for funding, the state may provide $30 million for the project. The university will fund the balance with resources from the Provost’s Office, CoE and SI.
“We look forward to welcoming the School of Information back to North Campus. This new hub for the university’s data science and information technology efforts will address significant demand for these skills and expand knowledge in these critical disciplines,” said Alec D. Gallimore, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of aerospace engineering.
The architectural firm of Integrated Design Solutions, in association with the firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, will design the project, which is expected to provide an average of 116 on-site construction jobs.
Design is scheduled to begin immediately. The university will return with a construction schedule and the project’s impact on surrounding parking when seeking regents’ approval for the schematic design.
Steve Donajkowski
Where will everyone park? We don’t have enough parking now.