University officials announced last week that they would scale back a large expansion planned for the school’s Bingham Facility in western Orange County.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Bob Lowman, who has led the project, sent a memo this week saying Bill Roper, dean of the medical school, has informed the National Institutes of Health that the university would relinquish a $14.5 million stimulus act grant to build two new buildings at the facility.
Lowman cited rising infrastructure costs as a major factor in the decision.
“This is a major change of course for us, and it will take some time to determine our future plans for the Bingham Facility. Until those plans are complete, the University will continue to maintain and operate the Bingham Facility at its present size,†he said in the memo.
Laura Streitfeld of Preserve Rural Orange, a group that raised concerns about the facility’s environmental record, said scaling down the project makes sense given the energy and water needs and the amount of wastewater expanded facilities would have produced.