Laura Acevedo
Contributing Writer
Texas A&M University-San Antonio is undergoing a $63 million expansion, adding a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) building set to open fall 2018.
The project is being supervised by William “Bill” Spindle, university vice president of business affairs and chief financial officer. Spindle spoke March 2 during a faux news conference, part of a reporting exercise for Communication students.
The STEM building will bring extra space for the rapid growth of the university; 7,500 students are expected to be enrolled by 2018, a growth of 1,000 students per year.
The classrooms will range in size, holding between 20 and 90 students.
“This building is a missing link for the master plan,” Spindle said.
The master plan is the university’s expansion plan of the 700-acre area.
The two-year plan includes the STEM building, accommodating for higher enrollment and additional amenities. Features include student and family housing, sports fields, a basketball pavilion, a student recreation area and additional food options.
Spindle collaborated with contractors, including SpawGlass and 10 to 20 subcontractors for the past six months.
The 136,000 square foot building will be four stories tall with 25 classrooms and 12 labs, including portable lab stations.
Biology sophomore Dionnie Bravo-Bustos said she is excited for the building to open because of its benefits for future biologists.
“This new building would benefit me personally because it will have updated equipment that would allow science majors more in depth research,” Bravo-Bustos said. “It would also contribute to a more green society, which is important to any biology major.”
The original vision and design for the master plan was part of a group effort consisting of students, faculty, staff and community members, Spindle said. In keeping with that same approach, science faculty contributed to the interior aesthetics of the STEM building.
Spindle said the labs will have concrete floors, making for easy clean up and avoiding absorption of harsh chemicals.
Assistant professor of chemistry Joselyn Del Pilar called the building a game changer.
“The STEM building presents an extraordinary opportunity for all [students] at A&M-San Antonio as it will provide ample classroom space as well as areas where students can study and work in an environment that promotes learning,” Del Pilar said. “The new building will provide me with research space, which will allow me to develop new research projects and actively involve students.”
Marvin Lutnesky, Department of Science and Mathematics chair, agreed, calling the building “a historic place in the making.”
“Buildings like this last decades and the faculty and students using the building will not only disseminate knowledge there, they will create it in the research labs,” Lutnesky said. “It gives me pause when I think of all the discoveries that will be made in this structure. Both new knowledge and brilliant minds will be discovered in this building for decades to come.”
The building will be northwest of the Central Academic Building on a section of the main student parking lot. Currently, that part is fenced off and unavailable, resulting in the removal of 245 parking spaces.
Spindle said student parking is a priority to the university.
University officials located a temporary parking lot west of Central Academic Building, providing 239 parking spaces, including an additional 30 temporary American with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking spaces.
Spindle said a new student parking lot will be completed by September, adding 1,000 parking spaces.
The exterior design of the STEM building will match the rest of campus, a reflection of the Missions of South Texas. The building will include a coffee shop, seating areas and many windows, letting in natural light that will go along with the university’s eco-friendly features.
Spindle said he worked with a biologist and designers to choose materials that adhere to LEED standards, although the university is not officially certified.
During the construction process, 20 trees will be taken down, but Spindle said most will be replanted.
“We want to save every tree we can; we care about the trees,” Spindle said.
Not only will the university replant 20 trees taken from the student parking lot but a local non-profit, San Antonio Tricentennial, is donating 300 trees to be planted around the university, something Spindle sounded very passionate about.
“I came from Alaska, and I have been doing this for 20 years,” Spindle said.
The biggest project he worked on was a $109 million sports complex at the University of Alaska where he worked for 9 years as chancellor before coming to A&M-San Antonio.
Spindle said the construction of the fourth academic building at A&M-San Antonio is the beginning of what Chancellor John Sharp projected will be the “second largest university in the system.”
As for now, Spindle assures this project will stay on budget and meet the deadline for fall 2018.
