AMES, Iowa — Vertical construction has started on CyTown located between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum on the Iowa State University campus.

The $200 million project started in 2023 including breaking up preexisting parking lots that once occupied the area. After two years of dirt work, paving new parking lots and planning, the construction phase of CyTown is now underway on its first building — the McFarland Clinic.

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Operators, Chris Jorgensen, said construction on CyTown is still on schedule.

“McFarland Clinic, as you can see, is under construction and their goal is to complete late 2026,” Jorgensen said. “So, be moved in early 2027, and then the rest of the project is about a year behind the McFarland timeline. We hope to see vertical construction completed fall of 2027 and the hotel will probably lag about a year behind that as well.”

Jorgensen said the idea to build CyTown started before 2020 with hopes to bring in more revenue for the university and to repurpose land that was previously parking lots. He said that the money will be used to update buildings on campus such as Stevens Auditorium and the Scheman Building.

Parking for this upcoming Iowa State Football season was also a topic of discussion. Jorgensen says this is the most parking that they have had in a few years and that Cyclone fans are used to the construction.

“We’ve had construction around the stadium, including parking lot construction, for the last ten years. So, our fans are used to that this season,” Jorgensen said. “Really, we’re as complete with parking lots as we’ve been in a number of years.”

CyTown construction is expected to be completed by 2028 with some businesses opening as early as next year.

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