The University of Massachusetts Boston plans to remind current and prospective students, faculty, alumni and, indeed, Boston’s entire university landscape that its new science center is open.

Dubbed the Integrated Sciences Complex, UMass Boston’s waterfront campus building officially opened in January for the start of the second half of the 2014-2015 school year. But that’s not stopping the university from holding a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 1, according to the Boston Business Journal.

At over 220,000 square feet, the science center is home to a wide-range of research labs, including chemistry, biology and physics, as well as a cancer research center.

The $183 million complex, the BBJ reports, is not only the first new building constructed on the UMass Boston campus since 1974, it’s also symbolic of Chancellor Keith Motley’s vision: transform the school into a well-respected research institution.

Researchers have occupied the newly opened facility since the beginning of the year and classes commenced at the end of January.

Designed by Boston-based architecture firm Goody Clancy and built by Walsh Brothers, the science center was originally slated for completion in Fall 2013. Completion got bumped back to Fall 2014, but that date, too, wasn’t in the cards. So, rather than hosting a ribbon-cutting in October, the BBJ reports, the event was spun into a tribute to then-Governor Deval Patrick’s commitment to funding higher education.

UMass Boston remains a possible site for the potential 2024 Summer Olympics. If Boston’s bid is chosen by the International Olympic Committee, UMass Boston could be home to the athletes’ village. In a February Boston Globe report, Chancellor Motley said in regards to UMass Boston’s involvement with the Games: “I’m confident it can work… And I’m confident that, given the chance, Boston can develop a great bid.”