TXST works to meet enrollment growth with a frenzy of campus construction projects

During a recent panel discussion with the President’s Cabinet, TXST President Kelly Damphousse said he’d learned something new from all the construction taking place across campus. 

“I’ve discovered that the official bird of TXST is the crane,” he joked. “Not the actual crane with feathers, but the big construction cranes that sit above all the building sites.” 

With fall 2024 marking record enrollment, TXST has been turning shovels at an unprecedented rate to expand student housing and academic opportunities. The university is in the midst of a $450 million building boom comprising 173 construction projects, including four significant new buildings. 

“We are excited so many freshmen have chosen to become Bobcats,” Damphousse noted at the August dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Alamito and Cibolo Halls on the San Marcos Campus. “As we continue to grow, we are going to need more space.”  
 

The two seven-story buildings—also called the Hilltop Complex—provide two distinct living communities, which are arranged around a central courtyard. Alamito has 505 beds and Cibolo has 501 beds, together adding 1,006 new beds for students. The single-, double-, and triple-person rooms opened to students this semester.

The completion of the Hilltop Complex follows TXST’s acquisition in February of two apartment buildings adjacent to campus.

Canyon Hall, another new residence hall with 1,000 beds, is under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2025, bringing the campus to a total capacity of almost 10,000 beds. Canyon Hall is part of the western side of campus in an area being called the STEM Neighborhood because of the addition of the new STEM classroom building. 

The university broke ground in August on the 168,000-square-foot STEM building, which is expected to be operational by fall 2026. The eight-story, $137 million facility is designed to foster innovation and collaboration in STEM disciplines. It will house the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science and will provide teaching space, class labs, departmental offices and research labs for other academic disciplines. 

Meanwhile, at the Round Rock Campus, TXST plans to break ground in November on the $52.4 million Esperanza Hall as part of its goal of growing enrollment on that campus to 10,000 students by 2030. Slated for completion in 2026, the new building will be Round Rock’s fourth academic building.  

“Our historic enrollment figures and the work we’re doing to grow our campuses are a testimony to TXST’s commitment to student success and to providing a one-of-a-kind campus and educational experience that prepares our graduates for the workplace and the world,” Damphousse said.

TXST officials note that the campus upgrades also include technology improvements, a $25 million federal grant for the TXST bus system, and the $37 million UFCU Stadium End Zone Complex Expansion.