ANN ARBOR, MI-The University of Michigan will begin construction of the new $145-million, 270,000-sf Stephen M. Ross School of Business in the fall. The project is being partially funded with $75 million of a $100-million donation made by Stephen M. Ross, president of New York-based Related Cos. Ross graduated from the school in 1992.

The project, which was approved by the state Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee last week, will replace the existing 180,000-sf business school. Bernie DeGroat, a spokesman for the university, says the approval was the final one needed for the project to move forward. Three buildings will be demolished to make room for the new business school.

"One building was closed and March and the other two will be closed in April," DeGroat says. "Demolition of those structures will begin in May after the students leave."

Construction of the new building will begin in the fall. The new building, designed by New York-based architect firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, will be three-stories high around the perimeter with a six-story, L-shaped tower at its center. Its exterior will be constructed of terra cotta walls with a sandstone base. Glass walls at the top stories of the structure will provide panoramic views of the campus.

It will include a new entrance at the corner of Tappan and Monroe streets diagonally across from the law school. The entrance opens into the Davidson Winter Garden, a space that will serve as a focal point of the building and serve as a gathering space for students and faculty.