Arizona State University has embarked on a massive expansion of its Polytechnic campus in Mesa to address the expected surge in tech jobs in the state.
The East Valley Tribune reports that the $185 million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 (ISTB12) is being constructed on land that once was part of the old Williams Air Force Base.
It will be part of an Innovation Research District, also called the Polytechnic Innovation Zone.
ASU Polytechnic opened in 1996 and shares 600 acres with Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a Veteran's Administration Clinic and the Silvestre Herrera Army Reserve Center.
The 173,194-square-foot building will consist of three floors and 128,828 programmable square feet for office, meeting, instructional, research and collaboration spaces "to prepare students to contribute to engineering solutions for societal challenges," the university said.
It will include specific space and labs specializing in additive manufacturing, robotics for smart manufacturing and industry automation, cyber manufacturing and operations research, semiconductor manufacturing, and manufacturing systems for the energy sector.
Completion is scheduled for November 2025.
The builder is McCarthy Building Companies, and the architect is SmithGroup.
