MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) broke ground on a new chemistry building on Wednesday.
The four-story, 163,400-square-foot building will serve as a gateway to the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) buildings and departments. It will also include space for the nearly 2,500 students who take chemistry and biochemistry classes each year at UWM.
Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024 at a cost of $118 million, university officials say.
There was a brief ceremony followed by remarks at the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex on Wednesday.
University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, UWM Chancellor Mark Mone and Scott Gronert, dean of the College of Letters & Science spoke during the event.
Speakers and members of the Chemistry Department gathered at the window facing the construction site to "lift a smoking chemical toast to the success of the new building", officials say. The toast was the signal for the excavator to start digging outside.
