The University of Arizona is pausing and “reassessing” construction of a $300 million bioscience hub in downtown Phoenix — where a cancer research focus is planned — due to federal funding uncertainties.
“Recent developments in federal research funding require an evaluation of all research-intensive university infrastructure needs, including capital investments and operations,” the UA said, through spokesperson Mitch Zak.
The building was to be located at the corner of East Fillmore Street and Seventh Street in downtown Phoenix.
“With annual fixed costs associated with U of A buildings and utilities that cannot be eliminated, reductions in (federal) research funding will impact all facets of the university’s operations,” the announcement said.
The Trump administration has issued numerous orders variously pausing, stopping or threatening federal research funding to universities.
The goal of the bioscience hub, called the Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies or CAMI, is to “develop new strategies for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune conditions,” UA announced in October.
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“We are dedicated to advancing groundbreaking research that will improve lives in Arizona and beyond,” UA Chief Operating and Financial Officer John Arnold said this week in the announcement about pausing construction. “While we remain committed to our research at the Phoenix Bioscience Core, we need to pause and reassess CAMI given the uncertainties.”
The hub is “intended to anchor an innovation district” aimed at cell and gene therapy research.
A rendering of the planned UA biosciences hub in downtown Phoenix. Construction of the $300 million building has now been paused due to federal funding uncertainty under the Trump administration.
The seven-story, more than 200,000-square-foot building is to house research laboratories and a clinical suite, among other features. Completion of construction had been expected in 2027.
In hailing plans for the hub in October, the UA said in a news release that CAMI would advance research already underway by University of Arizona Health Sciences “to improve health outcomes.”
In June 2024, the Phoenix City Council approved providing more than $20 million in funding for the project, The Arizona Republic reported.
A UA website says economic gains from the research hub could be as high as $4.8 billion, according to an analysis by Rounds Consulting Group of Tempe, and that CAMI would attract more than 150 companies to greater Phoenix as well as at least 7,500 new bioscience-related jobs and 13,000 supporting jobs.
Reporter Prerana Sannappanavar covers higher education for the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson.com. Contact her at psannappa1@tucson.com or DM her on Twitter.
Prerana Sannappanavar
Higher Education Reporter
