
The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved the proposed design of the Translational Research Building (TRB). The TRB will expand space for imaging and virology research as well as vaccine development programs, providing state-of-the-art facilities for basic science research, therapeutic and pre-clinical drug development. The project will construct a seven-story, 178,000 square foot building with space for multiple campus units, including the schools of medicine, pharmacy, and public health, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and the Division of Comparative Medicine.
The project is in mid-design, with site preparation and early foundation work progressing in parallel. The site is located just to the south of bioinformatics and east of genetic medicine. Site preparation activities, including demolition and clearing, are scheduled to begin this spring. Groundbreaking, including site utility work and structural foundations, is anticipated to start at the end of calendar year 2025. The design phase should complete in the spring of 2026, with occupancy projected for spring 2028.