Pictured is the Academic Building at Texas A&M University.
Texas A&M University has paused its plans for a proposed $235 million Center for Learning Arts and Innovation, less than a year after the A&M System Board of Regents approved the construction.
The plans for the proposed building, which would be the new home of the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, have been placed on pause by the university administration, which cited more “pressing needs across campus.” The pause, first reported by The Battalion, the Texas A&M student newspaper, comes after the board of regents approved the building last August as part of the Texas A&M System’s $1.9 billion capital plan.
In a statement to Houston Public Media on Thursday, a university spokesperson said Texas A&M University Interim President Tommy Williams decided to pause construction while university leadership evaluates other needs.
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“This action does not affect funding for the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, nor construction of facilities supporting the Virtual Production Institute within the college,” the spokesperson said.
Texas A&M’s west campus in College Station is “facing significant pressure on classrooms, housing, dining, health services and support facilities due to continued enrollment growth and limited space,” according to the spokesperson.
“This pause allows us to step back, assess those needs comprehensively, and ensure we are prioritizing investments that best support our students, faculty and staff,” the spokesperson said.
West campus houses several STEM-focused buildings, along with the university’s Mays Business School. It is also the planned location for the Center for Learning Arts and Innovation building.
The university did not provide an estimated timeline for when the project would resume. The College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts did not respond to a request for comment regarding the project’s pause.
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As of 2025, Texas A&M’s flagship campus in College Station had an enrollment of over 74,000 students. In January 2025, then-university president Mark Welsh announced that enrollment increases would be paused for several years following a more than 30% growth in the student body over the past decade.
The College of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts, established in 2022, had approximately 666 students — comprising about 0.9% of the student body as of fall 2025.
The five-story, 186,900-square-foot Center for Learning Arts and Innovation building was originally expected to begin construction in late 2026, according to the government procurement consulting firm Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
The Center for Learning Arts and Innovation accounts for 12.3% of the system’s $1.9 billion capital plan and is one of six major projects slated for the College Station campus. As of Friday, no pauses had been announced for the other approved projects.