Newest Miami University building marks end of historic construction boom

The four-story, 92,000-square-foot facility already has a major “Data Summit” meeting scheduled for Jan. 18 and the building will be opened by the end of this year, said Miami officials.

The McVey building will impact both the main campus and beyond to Miami’s regional campuses in Hamilton, Middletown and the school’s Learning Center in West Chester Twp. as it becomes a hub for gathering, analyzing and sharing data, said officials.

The project is the last of a nearly $200 million, historic building boom – the first in decades for Butler County’s largest employer – that has seen new additions open in the last two years on and near Miami’s main campus.

These have also included a new Equine Center on the eastern edge of campus, a $15 million, joint Miami and city project – College & Elm – a business incubator center a few blocks from the campus’ western edge and a $96 million Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness Facility

“For several years we have been very active in numerous new construction and renovation projects across the campus,” said Cody Powell, Miami’s associate vice president for facilities planning and operations.

“Both McVey Data Science and the Clinical Health Science and Wellness facility are substantial new construction projects being completed this year. Both facilities are housing a combination of new programs and expanded and enhanced programs for our students,” said Powell.

“And Miami has also recently completed a renovation of a facility to create College@Elm, which is an innovative workforce development center and business incubator,” he said.

Powell said the McVey building site was previously occupied by Swing Hall, but that residence building proved impractical for renovation to create the new data science center.

“Swing was a very nice building, but it was constructed in such a way that renovating it would have been very difficult to maintain appropriate ceiling heights while incorporating sprinkler systems and modern HVAC systems within the building,” said Powell.

“It was determined that removing the building and creating an opportunity for academic expansion made the most sense.”

Miami officials describe the McVey center’s mission as “sharing of institutional data knowledge and educating Miami University on data resources while fostering and promoting a culture of sharing and collaboration surrounding data” for the school and its nearly 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students, teachers and other employees on the campus and at the regionals.

“All of these facilities offer new and unique opportunities that enhance the educational experience at Miami.”