The University has made plans to spend up to $100 million on a new School of Biological Sciences at the Kelburn campus.
The building plans must first go through a financial-feasibility study to gain approval from the University Council, as well as resource consent, before any decision is made to proceed.
If resource consent is granted, the proposed new building will be built in front of the Alan MacDiarmid Building at the top of Kelburn Parade. It would have four storeys and 12,000 square metres of space.
The University has said that the upgrade is necessary as student numbers in the school are growing and the current facilities are insufficient.
Director of Campus Services, Jenny Bentley, said that biological sciences are “a key strategic research and teaching area for Victoria.”
“While the School of Biological Sciences is the national research leader in its discipline, the existing biological-science facilities in the Kirk Building are inadequate and not fit for purpose,” she said.
The Kirk Building has failed to meet the University’s seismic rating or health and safety standards, and is considered by the University to be “a deterrent to staff recruitment and student retention.”
If the project does proceed, construction is likely to start in late 2014, with an expectation of completion early in 2018.