Cornell may soon break ground for Milstein Hall. (Office of Metropolitan Architecture)

Construction for Koolhaas: Cornell University is finally gearing up to begin building Milstein Hall, designed by Rem Koolhaas of the Office of Metropolitan Architecture for the university’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. Plans for the $40-million building were unveiled in 2006, but the project has been held up by—among other things—a disagreement between Cornell and the City of Ithaca over ownership of University Avenue, which the building would bridge. According to The Cornell Daily Sun, the university and the city have now reached an agreement, after the project’s design was changed. Several other issues still remain to be resolved, however, and the environmental-impact statement for the project has yet to be completed. The plan envisions a three-level building, with the lowest level underground and the highest consisting of a large open space for a library, studios, and computer labs, all illuminated by floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights. —Lawrence Biemiller

Space for rent in Minnesota: The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is planning to lease out a small 1887 building that was once the campus music hall (right). The 6,800-square-foot Richardson Romanesque structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is in need of some $2-million in repairs. The university is hoping to find a long-term tenant for the building. “We’ve been struggling to find a use for the building because it’s a little small for the university’s typical volume of operations,” James Litsheim, senior architect of capital planning for the university, told Preservation. “However, someone else could easily use it for office space, a coffee shop—just about any kind of use you can think of for a smaller space.” Deadline for proposals is March 17. —Scott Carlson

Donation in Arkansas: A University of Arkansas at Fayetteville alumnus who became an architecture fan after taking a course from E. Fay Jones in 1954 is giving the university’s architecture school $10-million, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The alumnus, Don Edmondson, made his fortune as an owner of the Holiday Inn, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Taco Bell franchises, and lives in a home that Jones designed. —L.B.

Demolition in Palo Alto: Stanford University is in the process of demolishing the original home of the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, a building that was put up after World War II and that was home to the research team that produced the first full-scale linear accelerator. According to The Stanford Daily, the concrete-and-cinderblock building was always intended to be temporary. “It was a wonderful place to do research,” said Blas Cabrera, a physics professor. “Nobody cared if you punched a hole in the wall.” The site will become part of the university’s new science and engineering quad. —L.B.