Topeka ? Kansas University officials said Tuesday that the decision by the Legislature to help finance research facilities has been a big success.

Higher education representatives gave an update on the projects to key budget leaders.

Five years ago, lawmakers approved $125 million in bonds to KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University to build research buildings and purchase equipment.

Under the deal, the state will pay off debt on the bonds for five years, and then the universities will take over payments through increased research earnings.

The state sold $65.6 million in bonds to support construction of the Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center on the KU Medical Center campus in Kansas City, Kan.

Testifying before the Legislative Budget Committee, Paul Terranova, vice chancellor for research, said the new building has been “a very successful project.”

The five-floor, 190,500-square-foot facility has helped recruit top scientists and draw research dollars, he said.

“The promise of new laboratory space and equipment is quite attractive to many faculty researchers,” Terranova said.

For the past two years, during construction and opening of the building, the medical center has experienced double-digit percentage increases in federal research dollars, he said.

“That’s good news to hear,” said state Rep. Sharon Schwartz, R-Washington, who is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.

KU also received $5 million in bonds to purchase equipment, including a giant nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer for the Structural Biology Center on West Campus in Lawrence.