EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Board of Regents for Texas Tech University wants to purchase vacant property next to its Health Sciences Center El Paso and expand its dental school.
The El Paso City Council is scheduled to hear a presentation and discuss the purchase which includes city-owned property, at Tuesday’s meeting.
Texas Tech Health Science President and Dean of the Foster School of Medicine Dr. Richard Lange says buying the space occupied by the city’s Department of Public Health is the largest item with a market value of $9.4 million.
“The one building is that Department of Public Health. Until we get ready to build the dental school building, where we secured the money,” Lange said.
According to the City of El Paso, 15 properties, including parking lots along El Paso Drive, Colfax and Euclid, are vacant.
“We’re probably intending to use that for some office space for right now. But once we secure the funding for the dental school building, then that building will be torn down and we will put the new dental school building on that side,” Lange said.
Lange says the new building will allow dental students to increase in class size from 60 to 100 per year. That will allow them to have at least 240 dental students by their third year.
“We’ve been in talks for years about just coordinating those efforts together,” Lange said.
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