Pitt Greensburg officials break ground on new Life Sciences facility

Calling it a game-changer, officials at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg broke ground Friday for the school’s long planned Life Sciences Building on its Hempfield campus.

The $19.3 million, 32,000- ­square-foot sustainable building is scheduled to be completed in November 2022. Beginning in January 2023, it will house the school’s nursing program and simulation suites as well as its life sciences programs. A $2.4 million connector and chemistry wing linking the facility to Smith Hall is scheduled to be completed in December 2022.

“We will have a cutting-edge home here for the schools of nursing and natural sciences. What will happen in this building will be transformative,” Pitt Provost Ann E. Cudd said.

Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred a week before the start of the fall semester, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 27.

The construction project is expected to pump $3 million into the region’s economy and will generate 125 construction jobs over the next two years.

Pitt’s College of Nursing, which routinely ranks among the top 10 programs in the nation, launched a bachelor’s degree program in nursing at the Hempfield campus in 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.

Pitt Greensburg President Robert Gregerson said enrollment in those and STEM programs is expected to increase by 20% over the next five years as students flock to majors with a strong outlook for employment across the region.

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.