UT System cancels big Houston expansion



Keep going for a look at facts you may not have known about the University of Texas. less Cars drive along Willowbend Boulevard, which cuts through the center of ﻿a 300-acre swath of land where UT planned to build an "intellectual hub." UT has canceled the plan, Chancellor William McRaven said Wednesday. Cars drive along Willowbend Boulevard, which cuts through the center of ﻿a 300-acre swath of land where UT planned to build an "intellectual hub." UT has canceled the plan, Chancellor William McRaven said ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close UT System cancels big Houston expansion 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

The University of Texas System is abandoning plans to expand in Houston.

Chancellor William McRaven said Wednesday he will no longer pursue a project on 300-plus acres in Houston.

"I was not able to develop a shared vision," McRaven said in a press conference Wednesday. "I wasn't able to get the stakeholders necessary to move forward."

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McRaven said Wednesday that the system planned a data science institute for the land. The center would focus on energy, health and education data. Aspects of this plan may proceed at the system's universities around the state.

UT acquired the land for $215 million but, until today, did not disclose what the university planned to build. McRaven recommended to the regents that UT's real estate office begin work to sell the land.

McRaven faced criticism from Texas lawmakers because he did not apprise them before buying the property. Sen. John Whitmire recently called the property a "dump."

State Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, said Wednesday that he respected UT's decision. "I met with UT administration and leadership several times, and questioned the recently appointed regents regarding this purchase at their nomination hearing," he said in a statement.

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With an anticipated tight state budget -- the Senate wants to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in higher education funding cuts to higher education -- lawmakers have questioned the need for UT's venture in Houston.

The chancellor acknowledged to state lawmakers in a Feb. 13 letter that much of the Houston land was an abandoned oil field and a few of the acres are polluted by a former polymer facility on the site.



McRaven formed an advisory group in February 2016 of representatives from around the city, including universities and businesses, to decide how to best use the property. In his letter, the chancellor said he expected the group's recommendations by the end of February, but a UT spokeswoman said Tuesday he had not received them as of last week.The group last met in January, two people with knowledge of those meetings said.

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University of Houston boosters were critical of UT's intentions almost immediately after the system announced the land deal two years ago.

An anticipated tight state budget includes hundreds of millions of cuts to higher education proposed by the Senate, and lawmakers have questioned the need to spend more money on a new venture.

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