What You Need to Know
- Arizona State University expects construction to begin in July on a new 200,000-square-foot ASU Health building in downtown Phoenix, with completion targeted before the fall 2028 semester.
- A second signature project — the $187 million John S. McCain III Library and Museum in Tempe — is expected to start construction in late spring and finish in fall 2028.
- Other 2026 work includes a $66 million expansion and renovation of the Polytechnic campus Student Union and ASU’s first 3D-printed market-and-shade structure.
- Additional projects highlighted include modernization work at the Bateman Physical Sciences Center H-wing and a multiphase renovation at Desert Financial Arena.
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PHOENIX — Arizona State University is lining up a mix of new builds and renovations in 2026 that university officials say will expand health education capacity, improve student facilities and modernize older academic and athletics spaces.
Two of the year’s most prominent projects include a new ASU Health building in downtown Phoenix and the John S. McCain III Library and Museum in Tempe, alongside student-facing upgrades on the Polytechnic and Tempe campuses.
Construction for the ASU Health building is expected to begin in July and finish before the start of the fall 2028 semester. The 200,000-square-foot facility in downtown Phoenix is planned to house the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering, the Health Observatory at ASU and the School of Technology for Public Health, according to the university.
The project budget is about $200 million for construction and equipment, according to Tim Smith, vice president for facilities development management at ASU. “The unique thing about ASU Health is that the med school of the future is not defined. So we’re trying to define that as the train is moving and the tracks are being laid,” he said, according to an article from ASU News.
Smith also pointed to technology-enabled instruction as a differentiator for the new program. “A lot of it will be tech driven. The augmented reality, virtual reality and ways that our students will learn are not the way that most traditional med schools have approached it,” he said, according to an article from ASU News.
The ASU Health project is paired with an $8 million renovation of the Mercado building on the Downtown Phoenix campus, which the university said will temporarily house ASU Health until the new building opens.
In Tempe, ASU is also planning the John S. McCain III Library and Museum, dedicated to the legacy of the late U.S. senator and Navy veteran. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in January, and construction on the $187 million project is expected to begin in late spring and finish in fall 2028. The planned 80,000-square-foot building is set to include an immersive museum, a library, a café, a lecture hall, event space and multipurpose areas for the university and the community.
On the Polytechnic campus, ASU plans to renovate and expand the Student Union, roughly doubling its size. The $66 million effort includes renovating dining and bookstore space and adding lounges, classrooms and meeting rooms for student organizations. Work is scheduled to begin this summer and finish next summer.
ASU also highlighted plans for its first 3D-printed structure: a 1,200-square-foot shade-and-market building next to the ISTB 12 facility that would serve people waiting at the campus shuttle stop. The university said the project is a collaboration with Aramark, ASU’s dining services provider, and does not yet have a timeline.
Additional projects outlined include phased modernization of the Bateman Physical Sciences Center H-wing — a $115 million effort expected to continue through summer 2028 — and a multiphase, three-year renovation at Desert Financial Arena with completion targeted for December 2029.
This article is based on reporting originally published by ASU News on Feb. 13, 2026.