UMKC’s new building project funded with millions in gifts and state money

The University of Missouri-Kansas City will construct another building on its Volker Campus with millions from donors and the state.

Friday at 1 p.m. the school will announce details about the construction of a $32 million education and research center for its fast-growing school of Computing and Engineering. In 2013 the university opened Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall built with a $32 million gift from Henry Bloch and at the time the largest single gift to the university.

Money for this latest building project came from a combination of private donors and state funds. Who the multiple donors are and what pot of state money is involved is being kept quiet until Friday’s announcement, said John Martellaro, UMKC spokesman.

He did say, however, that the university has the money in hand and is not waiting on a state match.

At the Friday event, at the World Trade Center Board Room at Union Station, university leaders will also reveal the location, dimensions, special features, and timetable for the project

UMKC officials said in a statement on Wednesday that the additional space in the School of Computing and Engineering is “needed to accommodate the rapid growth of the school, where enrollment has doubled in less than 10 years.”

Growing the school seeks to meet surging demand in the Kansas City area, which is home to four of the nation’s top 50 engineering firms and eight of the top 200, plus global tech firms including DST Systems, Zoloz, Cerner and Garmin.

The new research building will house some classroom space but will primarily feature labs and high-tech equipment. It’s being designed essentially to attract and accommodate “the most promising future engineers and computer scientists to build Kansas City’s and Missouri’s future workforce,” the university statement said.

Mayor Sly James and other civic and business leaders are expected to join university leaders for the announcement.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 12:13 PM with the headline "UMKC’s new building project funded with millions in gifts and state money."