The University of Texas at Austin is preparing to open a new 210,000-square-foot engineering facility near Waller Creek, completing the final phase of a decade-long, $820 million investment in campus engineering facilities. The Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building, at San Jacinto Boulevard and East 24th Street, will house the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. Faculty are expected to begin moving into the building next week. “We’re at the point now where we’re putting on the finishing touches for the teaching spaces,” Cockrell School Dean Roger Bonnecaze said. The building is the third new engineering facility developed through the university’s modernization effort. UT officials say the investment is intended to expand research capacity, improve hands-on learning and help prepare graduates for Texas industries that rely on engineering and technology workers. The facility includes open-concept laboratories, study areas, classrooms and shared collaboration spaces. Bonnecaze said the open layouts will allow researchers working in related fields to share equipment and give departments more flexibility as research programs change. The new laboratories also were designed with specialized infrastructure, including additional electrical capacity, gas-monitoring systems and ventilation for research activities. Faculty members participated in decisions about the laboratories, offices and departmental spaces, Bonnecaze said. Students are expected to gain access to the building’s study spaces by mid-October. Classrooms are scheduled to open in spring 2027. The project’s completion comes as Austin continues to grow as a center for technology, energy and advanced research. The university’s expanded facilities are positioned to influence both campus life and the regional workforce, while also raising familiar questions about how major university investments serve students and the broader public.