On Wednesday dignitaries from around the state commemorated the groundbreaking of the Health Sciences Education Building to be located north of the northwest corner of 7th Street and Van Buren. Governor Jan Brewer, President Ernest Calderon of the Arizona Board of Regents, and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon gave statements lauding the cooperation necessary to begin construction and forecasting the social and economic benefits the building will provide.
The 268,000-square-foot facility will be built in accordance with LEED standards, house classroom and lecture space, and allow the UofA College of Medicine in Phoenix to expand its class size to 110 students.  Currently there are 48 students per class.
This unique endeavor will feature cooperation between University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University and will educate students in a variety of medical fields. The building will be constructed by Sundt and DPR construction, who sponsored the groundbreaking ceremony.  Officials predict the project will provide 5,000 construction jobs and the fully built Biomedical Campus could have a future economic impact in excess of $2 billion a year by 2025. This latest building on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus is expected to open in 2012. For more information, please visit: A booster shot for ailing Arizona.