Higher Education

In a higher education landscape facing shifting enrollment trends, rising costs, and an uncertain future, institutions must rethink how they use their physical spaces—not just as real estate, but as engines of purpose. And rather than traditional return on investment (ROI), they should employ “Return on Mission” to evaluate their success rather than metrics like net-to-gross ratios, utilization rates, and physical occupancy to assess their spaces. Relying solely on ROI falls short of capturing what truly matters: the activity inside the space and the value it generates.

Vanderbilt University is expanding its national footprint by establishing an academic campus in San Francisco. The former California College of the Arts (CCA) site will be transformed into a new destination for education, collaboration, and global engagement beginning in 2027. Serving approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the project represents the next step in the university's strategic growth and builds on recent initiatives in New York City and West Palm Beach.

The University of Texas at El Paso celebrated the opening of Texas Western Hall in January of 2026. Serving as the new home for the College of Liberal Arts, the $110 million facility was designed by Ayers Saint Gross and Mijares-Mora Architects as a dynamic hub for teaching and campus life. The 124,725-sf complex provides state-of-the-art learning environments including 30 classrooms, 20 collaboration rooms, and a 150-seat auditorium equipped with advanced audiovisual modalities.

Christopher Newport University opened the Science and Engineering Research Center in January of 2026 in Newport News, Va. Catalyzing innovation and interdisciplinary exchange, the 83,000-sf building was designed by Glavé & Holmes Architecture to provide state-of-the art environments for learning and discovery. The Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab offers a dedicated assembly zone alongside a two-story open area equipped with a motion capture system for the testing of drones and other technologies.

The University of Virginia is planning to create the Emmet Ivy Corridor Student Housing project in Charlotteville. Capstone Development Partners is leading the design-build team in collaboration with Elkus Manfredi Architects and joint-venture contractors Hoar Construction and Hourigan. The complex will include three new structures totaling 310,000 sf and reaching five and six stories in height.

The University of South Carolina is constructing the School of Medicine Columbia as the centerpiece of its $300 million Health Sciences Campus. Supporting the institution’s evolving approach to medical pedagogy and discovery, the 330,000-sf building will feature active learning classrooms, leading-edge simulation spaces, wet and dry labs, and a health science library.

Ancora is planning to construct a vibrant research and innovation hub in South Bend, Ind. Created in partnership with University of Notre Dame, the City of South Bend, and the State of Indiana, Colfax Corner will bring together academic experts, startups, established companies, and students to shorten the pathway from idea to impact. A five-story facility will offer 202,000 sf of laboratories, offices, and gathering venues.

The ideal lab building can flex over time to accommodate each new generation of researchers, with minimal disruption and infrastructure change. Using an approach called the “resilient chassis,” labs are grouped by typologies and placed around a common spine or “chassis” of mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) systems based on zoning and capacity needs. The best location for each lab is determined by grouping labs together that share specialized requirements, such as vibration sensitivities, noise restrictions, lighting or electrical requirements, and instrumentation needs. 

The University of California, Davis is constructing the Lynda and Steward Resnick Agricultural Innovation Center on its main campus. The $66.4 million facility will enable the exploration of new ways of balancing food production with leading sustainability practices while advancing the global agricultural industry with scalable solutions. Designed by Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign to drive collaboration, the 32,000-sf building will feature diverse and dynamic environments for learning and research. 

Florida State University opened a new home for its Herbert Wertheim College of Business in January of 2026 in Tallahassee. Designed by Goody Clancy, Legacy Hall aims to catalyze excellence in education, research, and innovation. The $160 million facility provides a 300-seat auditorium, multiple 100-seat lecture halls, leading-edge classrooms, and dedicated zones to forge connections between faculty, students, and industry partners.

The University of Waikato broke ground in December of 2025 on the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine at the heart of its Hamilton campus. Designed by Chow:Hill Architects, the 59,202-sf facility will initially accommodate 120 students per year with the capacity to expand to cohorts of 160 in the future. The NZD 230 million (USD 132.2 million) building will feature a variety of purpose-built teaching environments to enable the delivery of an innovative pedagogy that emphasizes hands-on experience and technology-rich educational modalities.

Gattuso Development Partners and Vigilant Holdings are constructing a $500 million life sciences center in Philadelphia to fuel innovation. Sited in the University City district on the campus of Drexel University, the 519,647-rsf facility will offer wet and dry laboratories for the creation of novel therapeutics and medical technologies, accompanied by a mix of commercial, academic, and office spaces for biotechnology tenants, faculty, and students.

The University of Miami is planning to construct a residential complex for upper-class students on the Coral Gables campus. Designed by Arquitectonica, the 573,804-sf facility will comprise two towers offering a majority of single-occupancy rooms. The first building will rise nine stories high and provide more than 730 beds throughout 222 units, and the second ten-floor structure will house over 720 beds across 207 units. 

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has rejected the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding for indirect costs. In January of 2026, a three-judge panel ruled unanimously that prior attempts to cap reimbursement rates for overhead expenses at 15 percent of any given grant for universities and institutions engaged in medical and scientific research were unlawful.

The University of Georgia is constructing an education and research facility in Athens as the primary teaching hub for its School of Medicine. Designed by Flad Architects, the 93,000-sf building will dedicate nearly 25,000 sf to open wet labs for biomedical discovery and will feature active-learning classrooms for large and small groups, simulation suites with clinical skills labs, gross anatomy labs, and standardized patient rooms.