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Regents unanimously approve FY2026 capital budget additions including $60M for HEAPR and $8M for Washington Avenue safety railings
Summary
The University of Minnesota Board of Regents approved the FY2026 capital improvement budget unanimously (12–0), accepting two additions that add $68 million: $60 million in state HEAPR bonding and an $8 million grant from Hennepin County and the Met Council for permanent safety railings on the Washington Avenue Bridge.
The University of Minnesota Board of Regents approved the president's recommended FY2026 capital improvement budget in a 12–0 roll-call vote.
Vice President Robert Stavitz outlined two changes since the June committee meeting that together add $68 million to capital funding: $60 million from the state bonding bill designated for HEAPR (Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement) and an $8 million one-time grant from Hennepin County and the Met Council earmarked for permanent suicide-prevention railings on the Washington Avenue Bridge. "These funds will be used to advance facility renewal projects across all of our campuses," Vice President Robert Stavitz said.
Stavitz also summarized planned university-funded projects: a multi-site solar energy installation on the Twin Cities campus that will be financed with university debt and repaid from projected energy savings and production incentives, and a new Apple House at the Landscape Arboretum to be funded entirely by philanthropic gifts. He noted the legislature placed the railings funding in the transportation bill rather than HEAPR.
Following the presentation, a motion to approve the resolution for the FY2026 capital improvement budget was moved and seconded and the board proceeded to a roll-call vote called by Director Steeves. Director Steeves read the roll and announced the tally as a 12–0 approval.
The approved capital allocations will allow immediate work on facility renewal and the Washington Avenue Bridge safety project; the board moved on to consider the operating budget after the vote.
