Today, The Texas A&M University System announced the name of its landmark five-acre campus in Houston, Texas, at the prominent intersection of Holcombe Blvd. and Main St. near the Texas Medical Center. Setting a new standard for collaboration in engineering, medicine, research and education is the first all-new mixed-use campus for the Texas A&M System in Houston: Texas A&M Innovation Plaza.
The Texas A&M System initiated the new campus by acquiring and renovating an 18-story office building at 1020 Holcombe to be the home for EnMed, a unique two-degree program that provides students the chance to earn a master’s degree in engineering from Texas A&M University and a medical degree from the Texas A&M College of Medicine.
The EnMed Building will open later this year.
Complementing the academic, research, discovery and innovation missions of the EnMed program, Texas A&M Innovation Plaza will provide a welcoming, secure and vibrant experience to the campus population and visitors alike, with generous green spaces and lifestyle amenities not commonly found in the Texas Medical Center area.
With the groundbreaking scheduled in late 2020, the A&M System’s public-private partnership (P3) developer is bringing an additional investment of $401 million to fulfill unmet needs with two complementary towers, totaling an additional 1.9 million square feet.
“EnMed is just the first example of innovation that the Texas A&M System intends to bring to the Texas A&M Innovation Plaza,” said Chancellor John Sharp. “We are excited to have such a visible location in the Texas Medical Center.”
Scheduled to be delivered in June 2022, is a 19-story, 714-bed student housing tower that will overlook a scenic plaza flanked by a large garage with retail and dining, as well as convenient, affordable parking for 2,800 vehicles. Texas A&M medical students and Prairie View A&M University nursing students will be given priority for housing, but students from other institutions could fill open slots, if available.
Scheduled to be delivered in January 2024 is a 17-story, 515,000-square-foot integrated medical building that will be built atop the 13-story parking structure. With generous, efficient floorplates and robust building technologies, this integrated medical building will be ideally suited for medical, clinical, biomedical, tech and office use.
Accessible via Main St., Holcombe Blvd. and Fannin St., Texas A&M Innovation Plaza is also adjacent to the METRO Texas Medical Center Station, providing convenient connectivity via bus and light rail service to the Texas Medical Center, Museum District and downtown Houston.
The developer for the P3 projects is Medistar Corporation. American Triple I Partners, founded by Texas A&M alum Henry Cisneros, is part of the financing team.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the state’s economy.