Editor’s note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

The “Gateway to Maryland Parkway” is one step closer to becoming reality at UNLV’s campus.

The university is using part of a $6.2 million state appropriation to continue planning and design for a new Lee Business School building at Maryland Parkway and Frazier Way, near the main campus entrance.

Senate Bill 427, signed into law this month by Gov. Joe Lombardo, provides funding to Nevada System of Higher Education institutions for capital improvement projects. Monies from the bill, which was sponsored by state Sen. Sen. Fabian Doñate, D-Las Vegas, will additionally be used for other security, health and public safety upgrades at UNLV.

Western Nevada College, the College of Southern Nevada, Truckee Meadows Community College, Great Basin College and UNR also will receive appropriated funds for various projects on their campuses.

“This investment represents a significant step forward in the planning and design of a new home for the Lee Business School,” UNLV President Chris Heavey told the Sun. “The new facility will be more than just a building. It will serve as a gateway to Maryland Parkway, where innovation, scholarship and community come together to prepare the next generation of business leaders.”

The business school is housed next to the student union in the five-story Frank and Estella Beam Hall, which opened to students in 1983. But as the campus continues to grow, and their business programs gain more prestige, the university felt it was time for a change.

Gerry Sanders, dean of the Lee Business School, previously said the new build would be a “state-of-the-art facility” with new classrooms, student services, meeting areas, an incubator space, a cafe, a 175-seat lecture auditorium and a four-level conference center that will span 108,000 square feet.

Beam Hall went through $2.5 million in renovations following a December 2023 on-campus shooting that killed three professors and injured another.

The building was upgraded to feature cameras on multiple floors, a security guard stationed at a UNLV-branded desk on the first floor, and large-screen phones mounted in every classroom. The phones are designed to be highly visible when they flash during emergencies, ensuring they catch the attention of students and faculty.

SB 427 will give the university more resources to continue improving campus security. It’s too early for the university to detail specific enhancements.

“Following the tragic campus shooting that took the lives of three cherished faculty members on Dec. 6, this moment affirms that our community’s story does not end in tragedy, but continues with renewed commitment to safety, education, and one another,” Doñate said in a statement.

At the end of 2019, UNLV asked the international design firm Sasaki to update its master plan — the first major update to the master plan since 2012.

The new plan laid out three goals based on timelines for the campus’s improvement: short-term (three to five years), mid-term (five to 10 years) and long-term (over 10 years).

It segments the campus into seven districts, like the Flamingo District and the University District, and covers everything from updating signage to erecting the new buildings on campus.

Other facets of the plan include a new University Core, which is set to transform Harmon Avenue into an “athletics village” with practice facilities and fields; create a Tropicana District with amenities like a student wellness and recreation center; and add a new fine arts building to the campus.

Former UNLV President Keith Whitfield, who left his position this year, said in his last State of the University address that the institution was working on accelerating the timeline in building the new business school. 

“On our main campus, we need to be thinking about remodeling aging buildings; thinking about where we can fit some new ones in; making sure that we don’t lose the beauty that is this campus, but at the same time, be able to meet what our needs are,” Whitfield said Jan. 30. “We have such a great university to dream about.”

The university has already completed some of its other large-scale projects, such as the Advanced Engineering Building and Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Potential sites for more development included much of the east side of South Maryland Parkway between East Flamingo Road and East Tropicana Avenue.