Colleges and universities throughout the country are launching major capital projects designed to expand research capacity, modernize aging facilities, and address growing demands in science and health care education. From new research laboratories to major renovations of clinical and STEM facilities, these investments are creating massive opportunity pipelines for private sector contractors.
A total of $117.5 million has been secured for the University of Southern Mississippi’s planned science research facility in Hattiesburg. The project will expand the university’s capacity for biological, biomedical, and environmental research while providing a shared setting for students, faculty, and external research partners working across disciplines.
Plans call for an approximately 93,000-square-foot building with laboratories, specialized instrumentation environments, computational capacity, and dedicated research areas for faculty and graduate students. The facility will also include more than 40 offices, laboratory support space, multiple conference and meeting rooms, dissertation classrooms, and interdisciplinary collaboration areas. Together, these components will centralize research activity and related academic support functions within a single facility.
The project remains in early development, with pre-design and project planning underway. Architectural, engineering, and construction-related procurement opportunities are anticipated as development plans are refined. A schedule for design and construction has not yet been announced, but additional details are expected as planning advances toward the university’s goal of having the facility operational in 2029.
Officials at the University of Minnesota are planning a $150 million renovation and modernization of the Moos Tower Dentistry Clinic. The capital project will transform the university’s School of Dentistry by creating a modern teaching, research, and clinical care facility. The investment comes as Minnesota faces a critical shortage of dentists, with more practitioners retiring than new graduates entering the profession.
The project will comprehensively renovate multiple floors of the Malcolm Moos Health Sciences Tower, which houses the School of Dentistry. Work will include replacing outdated clinical environments with modern patient treatment operatories, predoctoral and graduate teaching clinics, simulation laboratories, digital dentistry and imaging spaces, research laboratories, faculty and student areas, and instructional support spaces.
Additional improvements will include upgrades to mechanical, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, information technology, fire protection, and life safety systems, along with accessibility improvements and redesigned clinical layouts. The modernization work will support advanced dental technologies while expanding the university’s clinical education and patient care capacity. The project is currently in the pre-design and planning phases, with those activities expected to continue through 2027. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2027 or early 2028.
Another major health care education project is taking shape at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where a proposed $40 million expansion will add nursing simulation and clinical training space. Planned work includes renovation of existing instructional areas and construction of new facility components to accommodate additional nursing education and training functions.
Plans call for increasing the nursing simulation facility’s total area to more than 50,000 square feet. The expanded facility will provide space for multiple nursing simulation laboratories, experiential learning environments, and clinical training areas designed to support hands-on instruction.
The scope also includes a building addition, interior build-out of specialized simulation and clinical spaces, installation of new building systems, and associated site improvements. Existing instructional areas will also be renovated as part of the larger facility program.
The project is currently in the pre-planning phase. University officials expect design to begin in early 2027, followed by construction procurement in late 2027. The university anticipates using a construction manager at risk delivery method, with construction scheduled to begin in 2028.
Farther west, Oregon State University in Corvallis is planning an $88 million renovation of Gilbert Hall. The project will create an updated STEM teaching environment for foundational chemistry and physics instruction and has been identified as one of the university’s highest-priority capital investments for the 2027–2029 biennium.
Plans call for a comprehensive modernization of the existing building to improve instructional capacity, building performance, and the overall learning environment. Work will include updating chemistry and physics teaching laboratories, renovating classrooms and instructional spaces, and making improvements to accessibility and seismic resilience.
The project will also modernize the building’s HVAC, laboratory exhaust, electrical, plumbing, and other building systems. Approximately $60 million of the overall investment is expected to address deferred maintenance needs.
The project remains in early development, and decisions related to design, construction procurement, and project delivery have not yet been finalized. However, the university’s current capital forecast anticipates construction beginning in 2028.
These projects resemble hundreds of others that are currently on planning boards. They represent large capital investments that are being made at universities throughout America. Research, health care education, STEM instruction, simulation facilities, and the modernization of aging buildings are driving significant capital needs are driving an abundance of opportunities for firms interested in higher education work. The most critical time for private sector firms to get positioned is emerging now as universities move through planning, design and project delivery decisions.
