UTEP Celebrates Construction Milestone for New Academic Building

The University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas, recently held a “topping out” ceremony for its new learning complex, Texas Western Hall, according to university news. The construction milestone marks the placement of the last beam of a structure in progress. The university is partnering with Sundt Construction on the project, which broke ground in late 2023 and is scheduled for completion in spring 2026.

The complex comes with a price tag of a $110 million, and it will cover 124,725 square feet. Amenities will include almost 30 classrooms, multiple large auditoriums, 23 collaboration spaces, a rooftop terrace, and a café, university news reports.

“Working together, the UTEP, Ayers Saint Gross and Sundt teams have created a beautiful building that reflects both the tradition of Bhutanese architecture at UTEP and the need for a 21st century learning environment,” said Sundt’s vice president and El Paso regional director, Joseph Riccillo. “I’m thankful to celebrate this milestone with our partners and everyone who has worked on Texas Western Hall and I look forward to the day very soon when we can officially open it for use.”

Funding for the project came from the Texas legislature and permanent funds from The University of Texas System Board of Regents. University news reports that after construction is complete, the adjacent Liberal Arts building will be demolished to restore the arroyo beneath it.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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