After the Board of Regents approved the $250 million project in September, Texas A&M broke ground Oct. 3 on the former site of Lot 100t, beginning construction of the long-awaited Aplin Center.

The Aplin Center, located on the block bounded by Wellborn Road, Olsen Boulevard and John Kimbrough Boulevard, will be a first-of-its-kind immersive learning center and student hub. The building will not only provide hands-on opportunities for hospitality, retail and food science students, but will act as a new A&M welcome center.

Over the past three years, A&M faculty has worked closely with Buc-ee’s founder and CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin III ‘80. Aplin donated $60 million to the university; the largest individual donation in A&M history, and has since been designated the namesake of the center. 

“The Aplin Center will fundamentally transform education on this campus,” ​​Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Oct. 3 during the groundbreaking ceremony. “However, it will go far beyond just students. It will also welcome visitors to this location with the hospitality, the pride, the excellence and the tradition that only Aggies provide.”

Expected to provide 211,724 square feet for immersive opportunities, the center will welcome future Aggies and feature learning laboratories encompassing hospitality, horticulture, meat science, enology, fermentation, dairy, coffee and floral design.

“Our students will be applying their classroom learning to real-world scenarios and customers,” Hospitality, Hotel Management & Tourism Department Head Brian King, Ph.D., said. “Whether it’s developing a new food product, managing guest experiences or evaluating guest preferences, the Aplin Center environment allows them to test ideas, observe outcomes and refine their skills.”

King discussed the experiences this center will provide, including the creation of new programs tailored to utilize future resources.

“The Aplin Center is more than a building,” King said. “The combination of academic excellence, Aggie hospitality, spirit and the sharing of learning-in-action will truly set us apart as hospitality leaders of the future.”

Multiple disciplines will intersect under the roof of the Aplin Center, allowing for collaboration across the agriculture, business and hospitality programs. Additionally, students will get to participate in meaningful guest experiences through culinary kitchens, retail and dining spaces.

Utilizing this interactive concept, the Aplin Center was “designed for the passerby to be brought into the inside of the classroom or the laboratory and the people in the laboratory to be brought out,” Aplin said during the groundbreaking ceremony.

Aplin hopes the center will cultivate excitement and inspire young people who walk through the building. As A&M’s future front door, visitors will get to observe the work of Aggies in real time. However, years of construction lie ahead before this three-story building can open.

“The U-shape design with open arms is quite intentional,” Executive Vice President and Provost Alan Sams said. “It quite literally reflects Texas A&M’s welcoming spirit and its commitment to bringing people together.”

The Aplin Center will be the largest mass timber building on any campus in the United States, with all of the wood used to build the center sourced from Texas. From materials used to where the building stands, every detail is intentional.

“Something in the shadows of Kyle Field,” Executive Vice Chancellor of the A&M System Susan Ballabina said. “The ideal location to serve as the first stop for prospective Aggies and the last stop for graduates.”

Expected to open in 2028, the center aims to prepare future generations of Aggies to succeed by fostering collaboration and innovation.

“The Aplin Center’s a bold vision, a bold vision, for how we prepare our students to be the next generation in a complex and interconnected world,” Sams said. “This exceptional facility will elevate the students’ experience by creating opportunities to learn, not just from books and lectures, but through hands-on practice, discovery and the innovation that comes from that.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said Aplin’s $60 million donation was specifically for the construction of the Aplin Center. It has since been corrected.