COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University has officially broken ground on its new Aplin Center, an "immersive, hands-on learning hub" the university says will also serve as a campus visitor center.

Texas A&M said the three-story, over 211,000-square-foot center is scheduled to open in 2028, and is meant to "transform hospitality, retail and marketing education."

The center is named after Buc-ee's founder Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, who contributed $60 million towards establishing the center.

“Beaver Aplin changed the way Americans travel with Buc-ee’s, and now he’s changing how the next generation of Aggies will learn,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “The Aplin Center proves Texas A&M is more than a place for education — it’s a hub of innovation where dreamers and doers will shape the fu

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