University of Iowa Seeks Approval For $249 Million Building

A positive vote next week would pave the way for work to begin later this summer on a huge new project in Iowa City.

The University of Iowa is ready to take another step toward big changes in Iowa City. This one has a massive price tag... $249 million.

The Iowa Board of Regents meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 13 and 14, and one of the items on their agenda is to consider a new Health Sciences Academic Building on the University of Iowa campus.

If approved, the building would go up to the south of Slater Residence Hall. See the image below for the exact location.

The six-story building would house the Health and Human Physiology, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Communication Sciences and Disorder departments. Communication Sciences and Disorders is currently in the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center (WJSHC). That building (WJSHC) is being taken down so that a new University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics hospital tower can be built in that location.

If approved by the Board of Regents, construction would begin this summer on the portion of the Health Sciences Academic Building that will be home to Communication Sciences and Disorders. That part of the building should be done next summer. The Corridor Business Journal says the building would be totally complete in the summer of 2026.

According to the University of Iowa, the new Health Sciences Academic Building would be "funded by a combination of University Hospitals Building Usage Funds, university investment income, and private donations. No state funds will be used."

The image below shows a view of the plaza of the building, which would face the University of Iowa campus.