DePaul University’s new $40 million science building is set to open in time for the start of classes on Jan. 5, officials say.

The 130,000-square-foot building triples the amount of space for science classrooms and laboratories, university officials say in a press release.

The new building will initially house the school’s chemistry and environmental science departments, giving the biology and physics departments room to spread out in the existing science building next door to the new one.

“We’re a leader in science education here in Illinois and this building gives us a really big boost,” says Roxanne Brown, a spokeswoman for DePaul.

Chemistry students once had to share labs in the basement and on the fourth floor of the old building. Now, they will have an entire floor to themselves in the new building.

The new Andrew J. McGowan building, named for the brother of the founder of telecommunications firm MCI, is built to be environmentally friendly, officials say. It uses carpet and paint with fewer toxins and features rooftop greenhouses. DePaul is hoping to earn either silver- or gold-level certification from LEED,  a program categorizing the environmental friendliness of buildings.

The new building comes as the number of science majors at DePaul has increased 57 percent since 2000.