The David Eccles School of Business is proud to announce a new building that will break ground this summer. The new Impact and Prosperity Epicenter is envisioned as a multidisciplinary hub for innovation, impact, and prosperity, which will provide student housing and office space for the Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity and Sorenson Impact Center. The $114 million project is made possible by the generous support of anchor donations from Jim Sorenson and Robert and Lynette Gay.

The six-story building will include a dedicated gathering space on the first floor, known as The Forum,  which will serve as the heart of the building. This space will bring together users from the different programmatic areas and from all over campus in an open, collaborative space. The Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity and Sorenson Impact Center will occupy space directly above The Forum. The 284,808 square foot building will also provide 775 resident beds for students.

“The Epicenter is a living-learning space that will provide an unparalleled opportunity to equip the next generation of leaders with social purpose and sharpen the world’s understanding of impact investing and approaches to sustainable economic development,” said Jim Sorenson. “We believe the outcome of the Epicenter will be two-fold, creating the highest learnings and solutions in impact investing and preparing students to be powerful global citizens and community leaders.”

“We are excited to be a partner with the University and Jim Sorenson in building this new Impact and Prosperity Epicenter,” said Bob and Lynette Gay. “Through the Center we expect to lay a new innovative foundation within the University that builds and enhances the lives of not only the University’s students but countless others, especially in Africa where we have labored for many years. Building on a mission of unifying the resources of business and public health, we believe the Epicenter will become a cutting-edge deliverer led by students of growth, hope and prosperity to today’s global community. We are grateful to part of this new venture.”

The space is a continuation of creating residential hubs on campus that provide experiential opportunities for students to impact their world in meaningful ways.

“Demand for on-campus housing is growing, but we want to ensure our students have more than just a place to live,” said University of Utah President Taylor Randall, who oversaw the planning of the Epicenter during his time as dean at the Eccles School. “We want to create a living learning community where students can engage with the transformational work of these centers, gain valuable experience, and use that experience to change the world around them. The Epicenter incorporates all elements of our vision to inspire, innovate, and impact.”

Construction of the building is expected to begin in June 2022, with a completion date of August 2024. The building will sit on a currently empty site to the east of the University’s Lassonde Studios. Several types of residential rooms and apartments will be offered, including:

• 8-bedroom apartments (12 units): Type A: 2, 100 sq. ft. Type B: 2,200 sq. ft.
• 4-bedroom apartments (30 units): 1,050 sq. ft.
• Doubles (140 units): 180 sq. ft.
• Singles (69 units): 110 sq. ft.
• Pod Studios (211 units): 80 sq. ft. 11 pod communities with approximately 2,100 sq. ft of shared community space

About the David Eccles School of Business

The Eccles School is synonymous with ‘doing.’ The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, eight other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to 12 institutes, centers and initiatives that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.

About Sorenson Impact Center

The Sorenson Impact Center helps organizations achieve their impact vision by connecting capital to social and environmental solutions, helping organizations measure, report, and improve impact, and integrating data science and people-centered storytelling into all that we do. Along with our clients and partners, we share a vision of an equitable and thriving world where everyone is valued, communities prosper, and the measured impact of our actions guides decision-making. As part of our mission to train future impact leaders, the Center integrates academic programming and experiential learning into each of its practice areas. The Center is proudly housed at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. Learn more at http://www.sorensonimpactcenter.com

About the Center for Business, Health and Prosperity

The Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity has been established to promote societal prosperity by integrating value-creating innovation and entrepreneurship with improved health. The Center leverages established programs at the Salt Lake City campus of the University of Utah, with a focus on business development (including entrepreneurship, innovation, and finance) and health innovation. The Center also makes use of unique opportunities that exist through the growing University of Utah West Africa Programs, and collaboration with Ensign Global College in Kpong, Ghana, to established mission-aligned programming in one of the most vibrant emerging markets in the world. Exploration of how to engage resources at the Asia Campus is also underway, in collaboration with the Office for Global Engagement, to establish the Center as a truly global undertaking that makes use of the unique global assets of the University of Utah. Learn more at Eccles.link/BHP.