New life sciences building to go up this fall on Pitt-Greensburg campus

Officials at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg are preparing to break ground for a new life sciences building this summer, following official action on the proposal by Pitt’s Properties and Facilities Committee.

The project, years in the making, calls for the construction of a $19.3 million, 32,000-square-foot facility at the school’s Hempfield campus.

Pitt officials said the project, which snagged a $500,000 state grant this year, is a response to increased enrollment in the school’s nursing program and increased demand and rapidly changing needs in the health care industry. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with a November 2022 projected completion date. The facility would be open for classes in the spring of 2023.

The project speaks to the popularity of the five-year-old nursing major and other life science programs.

Pitt’s College of Nursing, which routinely ranks among the top 10 rated college nursing programs in the nation, launched a bachelor’s degree program in nursing at the Hempfield campus in the fall of 2017 and has put an increasing emphasis on its popular life science offerings in recent years. In addition to nursing, the Hempfield campus offers an undergraduate program in biochemistry and a health science degree to prepare students for graduate work in physical or occupational therapy, two rapidly growing occupational fields.

The new building will include a nursing clinical lab, simulation suites, chemistry and biology lab and support spaces, a computer lab, a nursing administration suite, student lounge space and support space. Plans call for construction of a corridor that will connect the new building to Smith Hall to create a new unified life sciences complex.