A seven-story, 200,000-square-foot research tower rising in downtown Phoenix hit a major construction milestone Tuesday, as University of Arizona leaders, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and community partners gathered for a topping-out ceremony at the Phoenix Bioscience Core. The Medical Innovations Building, carrying an approved budget of $232 million, is now slated for substantial completion and an official grand opening in October 2027.
Gallego marked the occasion in a post on X, writing that the city is “one step closer to opening” the building and noting that the City of Phoenix invested in the project because officials believe it can improve lives. In the same post, shared via Mayor Kate Gallego
, she said her own family has been impacted by cancer and that she believes the work coming out of the building could lead to better treatments and, eventually, a cure. The topping-out event itself was confirmed by
University of Arizona News
, which detailed the ceremony and the building's scope.
The project, originally launched under the name Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, or CAMI, will serve as the hub for that center along with the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the College of Medicine – Phoenix Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology. Together, those programs are developing therapies aimed at cancer, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases, according to the same university report.
Banner Health Lands Top Two Floors for Bio-Incubator
One of the biggest new details to emerge from the ceremony involves the building's future tenant mix. Banner Health will occupy the top two floors of the Medical Innovations Building to launch a bio-incubator designed to speed the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical patient care, the university's report states. UA and Banner have partnered in academic medicine since 2015, and a report released in September 2026 indicates that partnership has generated more than $59 billion in economic impact across Arizona.
Getting the building built has required stacking public money from multiple levels of government. The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously on a Wednesday to approve more than $20 million in municipal investment for the facility, including $16.5 million from the Downtown Community Reinvestment Fund along with ground lease rent abatements, according to University of Arizona News. That measure had been recommended unanimously by the city's economic development subcommittee.
Beyond the city's contribution, the project also drew $150 million in state capital funding, as reported by Arizona Alumni Magazine, plus $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved on June 28, 2023, per AZBio. County officials designated that funding to strengthen regional healthcare infrastructure.
From Groundbreaking to Topping Out
Construction officially broke ground on October 30, 2024, according to University of Arizona Health Sciences. The university credited McCarthy Building Companies and SmithGroup on an artist’s rendering of the project.
The Medical Innovations Building sits within the Phoenix Bioscience Core in downtown Phoenix.
