Xavier University College of Medicine

As Xavier University expanded into medical education, the new College of Medicine became a cornerstone of the university’s long-term vision. The approximately 200,000-square-foot facility includes lecture halls, classrooms, laboratories, and support spaces designed to educate future osteopathic physicians while strengthening the university’s presence in healthcare education.

Motz Engineering partnered with the project team to provide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering focused on one of the project’s greatest challenges, extending chilled water and hot water and electrical services from the existing campus central utility plant with minimal disruption to ongoing campus operations. The project required careful planning to ensure the new facility could be integrated into existing infrastructure while preserving capacity and reliability across campus.

Years earlier, Motz Engineering had designed the central utility plant with future campus growth in mind. The four-pipe hot water and chilled water system was intentionally planned to accommodate future expansion while leveraging the diversity of campus heating and cooling loads. That long-range planning allowed the College of Medicine to be connected efficiently to existing infrastructure, maximizing previous investments while supporting the university’s evolving campus.

During the early planning phase, Motz Engineering evaluated multiple building locations, analyzing existing utilities, campus infrastructure, and life cycle costs for each option. Working closely with Xavier University’s facilities team, the engineering team helped identify the location that best balanced campus planning objectives, constructability, and the most cost-effective approach for extending utility services.

The project was delivered using a Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) approach, with mechanical and electrical contractors engaged early in design. This collaborative process allowed Motz Engineering to work directly with trade partners to evaluate construction methods, material selections, equipment options, and scheduling strategies that improved constructability while maintaining the owner’s budget and project goals.

Today, the College of Medicine is successfully connected to the campus central utility plant and progressing through commissioning, demonstrating how thoughtful infrastructure planning and collaborative engineering can position a growing campus for decades of future expansion.