Starting this fall, the Katy area will have another higher education option with the completion of a new University of Houston System campus.

The 40-acre campus—located at 22400 Grand Circle Blvd., Katy—will be shared by the University of Houston-Katy and University of Houston-Victoria at Katy, which has been operating at 2002 W. Grand Parkway N., Bldg. 2, Katy, since fall 2016, according to a press release.

Students enrolled at UH-Katy will start classes Aug. 19, said Marisa Ramirez, University of Houston-Sugar Land senior director of university communications. Meanwhile those enrolled at UH-Victoria at Katy will start Aug. 26, according to a UH-Victoria press release.

UH-Katy and UH-Victoria at Katy will only offer junior-, senior- and graduate-level classes. UH-Katy will house engineering and nursing departments, while UH-Victoria at Katy will offer degrees from the school of arts and sciences, the school of business administration as well as the school of education, health professions and human development.

Houston Community College, which purchased property immediately north of the UH-Katy campus at 228 Colonial Parkway, Katy, is expected to offer freshman- and sophomore-level courses to students who can transfer to UH-Katy and UH-Victoria at Katy. HCC is located at 550 Foxlake Drive, Katy, and plans to relocate the campus to 228 Colonial Parkway by mid-2021.

UH-Katy construction began in May 2018 on the three-story, 80,000-square-foot building. The project was paid for through $46.8 million in construction bonds approved by the Texas Legislature, according to the UH-Victoria press release.

The building’s design features a central entrance and lobby—which includes an information desk, a convenience store and a virtual library—with two wings that sweep back in an arrow-like shape, according to the release.

The wings on the first floor include a large classroom that can be converted into a multipurpose room, studios, and 60- and 40-seat classrooms, the release said. The wings on the second floor include studios, classrooms, labs and study alcoves. The third floor offers additional labs, studios and classrooms as well as balcony patios.

SmithGroup designed the facility, while Tellepsen was the general contractor for the project, according to the release.

UH-Katy expects to construct additional buildings on the 46-acre campus as needed. The UH System asked the state Legislature for additional funds to expand the campus with a second building, but House Bill 2000 did not make it out of committee in the Senate.