Contractors will soon break ground on another building at The Water Campus in Baton Rouge, La. The 35-acre property along the Mississippi River is being developed to house 1.8 million sq ft of labs, research, facilities and commercial space for coastal science and engineering.

Phase 1 of the project includes $55 million in commitments for the construction of three buildings. The latest facility to be constructed is a $22 million glass and metal building over the Mississippi River that will serve as the headquarters of the Water Institute of the Gulf. The 33,000 sq ft building will feature a gallery, offices, research labs and meeting rooms.

The Institute headquarters is designed by Louisiana-based Coleman Partners Architects LLC and global architect firm Perkins+Will. The striking design calls for constructing the building on a dock over the muddy waters of the river. Colman Partners principal Buddy Ragland says it's a "site like no other" with a design that expresses the overall mission of the institute in a facility that is integrated with the river.

Construction of the Water Institute of the Gulf facility is expected to be completed in July 2017.

Work began earlier this year and is still underway on the $16 million, 50,000 sq ft Center for River Studies and the $20 million, 40,000 sq ft  Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority office.

The development of the rest of the campus will take place in stages over the next ten years, following a blueprint created by urban planning firm Dover Kohl & Partners. The Water Campus is part of a revitalization in downtown Baton Rouge that has already seen more than $2 billion worth of investments and construction.