Even without the $8 million included in the sales tax package rejected by voters Tuesday, progress on a new cancer research building at Georgia Regents University will move forward, an official said Wednesday.

The money would have helped the university reach a $12.5 million local match needed to access $45 million in bond funding but now that difference will be made up through fundraising, said Tony Wagner, executive vice president for administration and finance and Chief Business Officer for the university and its health system. The governor’s Office of Planning and Budget requires that two-thirds of the local contribution be in the bank by June 30 for the state to release the bond funding and Wagner said “all systems are go for moving forward with it.”

Instead of the special purpose local option sales tax funding, the contributions will be through donations.

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