The gist
The newly unveiled Sugar Land Academic Building 2—a three-story, 75,000-square-foot facility—now serves as the home for programs from the UH Cullen College of Engineering, providing learning spaces, laboratories and expanded student services to meet workforce demand in Fort Bend County, per an Aug. 25 news release.
“The opening of the doors to our Sugar Land Academic Building 2 represents the growth our campus has experienced in the last year,” Jay Neal, associate vice president and academic affairs and chief operations officer for UH’s Sugar Land Campus, said in the release. “This building allows us to accommodate hundreds more students who wish to pursue engineering studies in Fort Bend County.”
According to the release, the new building features:
- Wet, dry and computer lab spaces
- Traditional and active learning classrooms
- Student advising offices and lounge areas
- A sky bridge connecting to Sugar Land Academic Building 1, which opened in 2019
The new building comes amid rising enrollment at the university’s Sugar Land campus, where enrollment has grown from 3,584 students in the fall 2024 semester to nearly 5,000 students, Community Impact reported.
The campus is also home to the UH Andy and Barbra Gessner College of Nursing and programs from the colleges of education, social work, business and liberal arts & social sciences, per the release.
How we got here
The $65 million facility, which began construction in October 2023, was approved by the Texas Legislature in 2021 as part of a $389 million capital construction bond awarded to the university to fund upgrades to campus facilities and infrastructure, Community Impact previously reported.
In April, Community Impact reported that UH officials said they plan to use the 89th legislative session to seek funding for a new $175 million health technology facility for the Andy & Barbara Gessner College of Nursing, but were not awarded anything by the end of the session.
Despite this, UH officials said the college will maintain nursing simulation centers at both the Sugar Land and Katy campuses, while the college expands nursing programming at the Katy Campus.
Another thing
The building also features a newly installed public art piece titled "Split Level," created by renowned Australian sculptor Clement Meadmore from the Public Art University of Houston System collection, per the release.
A formal grand opening ceremony for the Sugar Land Academic Building 2 is scheduled for mid-October.
