STEPHENVILLE — The Texas A&M System Board of Regents has approved a $14 million tornado shelter project at the Tarleton State University Agriculture Center, marking a significant investment in campus safety, academic infrastructure and community resilience.
The approval adds the Agriculture Center Tornado Shelter to the A&M System’s 2027-2031 capital plan, with a planned fiscal year 2027 start date.
“This investment reflects our unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, employees and the communities we serve,” said Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley. “By combining critical storm protection with additional space for teaching and research, we are strengthening our ability to serve our students while making a lasting investment in the future of our agriculture center.”
The proposed 12,250-square-foot, above-ground facility will accommodate approximately 1,700 people, providing critical protection for students, faculty, staff and community members during severe weather events.
When not serving as an emergency shelter, the facility will provide much-needed instructional and research space for the university’s agricultural programs. Plans include three classrooms and a large meeting room with movable furniture, allowing the building to accommodate a variety of academic activities, meetings and educational programs.
Board Chairman Robert Albritton said the shelter is built for the weather Stephenville actually gets.
“Anybody who has spent a spring in Erath County knows how fast the sky can turn,” Albritton said. “When it does, the students and employees at Tarleton State’s agriculture center will have somewhere safe to go, and so will their neighbors. On a clear day, it’s a classroom. That’s a smart use of every dollar.”
Designed to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) safe room guidance and International Code Council storm shelter standards, the facility will serve as a designated safe room during tornadoes and other qualifying severe weather emergencies. Construction of the facility is made possible by a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant of approximately $10 million.
Chancellor Glenn Hegar said Tarleton State made the most of federal dollars.
“A federal grant will cover about $10 million of this building, so Texas gets a storm shelter for 1,700 people and new classrooms for a fraction of what it would cost on our own,” Hegar said. “Tarleton State went out and found that money. That’s the kind of initiative we want to see across the A&M System.”
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