Grand Valley State University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) will vote Friday on whether the University will debt finance the completion of its Grand Rapids tech center, Blue Dot Lab.
The University estimates the center will cost $140 million, with $30 million coming from state funding and $110 million funded by the school. GVSU received $30 million from a supplemental funding bill for the project in 2023, which still needs state action for construction authorization. The University received an additional $1.6 million last year through a state evergreen fund.
The board will now vote on a resolution to issue general revenue bonds to help fund the project. Other funding would come from donors. The Grand Valley University Foundation, GVSU’s fundraising arm, declined to provide a specific amount raised for the center.
“At this time, we are not sharing details about the generous commitments donors have made to these projects thus far,” Vice President for Institutional Advancement Laura Aikens said.
The center was approved by the BOT in 2023 and will be added to the L.V. Eberhard Center on West Fulton Street. It will serve as the center for GVSU’s College of Computing, created in 2024. Last year, the college added programs in artificial intelligence and software engineering.
University leadership says Blue Dot will have no impact on funding for other departments.
The BOT meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health on the Health Campus. The board has also moved public comment from the end of the meeting, when it typically occurs, to before the Blue Dot vote.
