The $113.9 million in construction and renovation projects for WSU is approved

The nearly $114 million for construction and renovation projects throughout the WSU system has been approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee. The funding is part of the $4.3 billion capital budget that state lawmakers approved Friday and Inslee signed a few hours later.

Here’s the WSU projects included in the plan:

• Construction of new Plant Sciences Building on Pullman campus, $52 million.
• Construction of Global Animal Health Phase II Building on Pullman campus, $23 million.
• Preservation projects across the University system, $22.3 million.
• Preventive facility maintenance and repairs across the University system, $10.1 million.
• Design development for new Academic Building on Tri-Cities campus, $3 million.
• Joint Center for Deployment and Research in Earth Abundant Materials, a collaborative venture with University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, $2 million.
• Renovations to add more STEM teaching labs on Pullman campus, $1 million.
• Pre-design development of new Life Sciences Building on the Vancouver campus, $500,000.

The capital budget, which the state uses to pay for fixed projects such as construction, renovations and certain types of equipment, was the largest piece of unfinished business from the 2017 legislative session. Seeking final approval of the capital budget was the top state legislative priority for the Government Relations and External Affairs team.