The project secured a $30 million capital outlay from the state on Thursday as part of $625 million in supplemental spending bills approved by the legislature.It's unclear if the law school will replace the existing building or if it will be built elsewhere and the existing building will be repurposed.

"The current thinking is that it will be on campus, but no final decision has been made," said Matt Lockwood, associate vice president of university communications, in an email to Crain's.

Details of the project are still in their preliminary stage, Rick Bierschbach, dean of the WSU Law School and John W. Reed Professor of Law, said in a statement forwarded to Crain's.
But according to details provided on the state-issued list of capital outlay requests, the project would replace the existing 17,689-square-foot structure constructed on WSU's Detroit campus in 1966 with a new, 80,000-square-foot building. The new building would house the law school, providing mock trial and other classrooms and lecture areas as well as student and faculty workspaces. The increased space is needed to accommodate WSU's new minor, bachelor, and master programs in law and growth in its juris doctor program, the state said.

The legislature's approval of the university's capital outlay request "represents a clear recognition of the Wayne State Law School's importance to and impact on the community not only in Southeastern Michigan but throughout the state," Bierschbach said in an emailed statement.
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