As Marquette University raises $10 million in gifts and pledges for its planned $80 million wellness and recreation facility, the university may partner with health care organizations — but there was no word on whether that would entail anything like Aurora Health Care’s 2016 pledge for an earlier project that was downsized.
An anonymous couple in December 2021 contributed a leadership gift of $5 million and committed to giving another $5 million once the university community raises $10 million in new gifts and pledges, Marquette said Friday.
MU plans to fully reimagine the existing Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center at 525 N. 16th St. on the southwestern edge of campus as a comprehensive wellness and recreation facility. Marquette said the facility combines fitness and recreation facilities with the campus counseling center and the Marquette University Medical Clinic that currently are dispersed across campus.
Portions of the Rec Center will be renovated with significantly updated facades and windows. A newly constructed three-story wellness tower that will sit in the core of the facility and all interior building systems will be replaced.
Marquette president Mike Lovell said the goal is to complete the 180,000-square-foot facility by the end of 2024, contingent on funding.
Other than the recreation aspect, the newly announced project will play a different role than what was contemplated in 2016 when Lovell announced plans for what was called the Athletic Performance Research Center to be developed in partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks. Aurora Health Care was to invest $40 million in the $120 million facility that was to be built on West Michigan Street on the southeast corner of the campus.
Marquette ultimately downsized the project and built it at another site and without a financial contribution from Aurora Health Care, which in April 2018 merged with Advocate Health Care of suburban Chicago.
The Athletic and Human Performance Research Center at the corner of West Wells and North 12th streets is a 46,000-square-foot facility that cost $24 million. The site is only about one block from Aurora Sinai Medical Center.
When asked for a comment on a possible health care system contributor to the new “Wellness + Recreation” facility, Marquette provided the following response from spokeswoman Lynn Griffith.
“We are exploring unique partnerships with health care organizations, community organizations and developers to bring their services to our new hub for wellness and recreation on campus,” Griffith said.
The Business Journal also contacted Advocate Aurora for a comment. The health care system, which has co-headquarters in Milwaukee and Chicagoland, said it is proud to partner with Marquette to sponsor athletic trainers and physical therapists in support of its student athletes.
“As Marquette’s neighbor and a fellow anchor institution in the Near West Side Partners community organization, we applaud this investment in health and wellness and look forward to learning more,” Advocate Aurora said.
Marquette said significant fundraising efforts are already underway for the Wellness + Recreation center.
The facility will be funded through a combination of philanthropy, external partnerships and university capital, MU said. Additionally, the university will apply funds collected through an existing recreation and wellness student fee toward the project.
“This will be a transformational project for our campus, particularly our students,” Lovell said. “Not only is this facility a key part of our campus master plan, but it is also truly about building a culture of wellness at Marquette.”
The facility will position recreation, fitness, clinical and mental health services under one roof, he said.
The project was designed by St. Louis-based HOK and Milwaukee’s Workshop Architects.
Programming in the new wellness tower will include the Marquette University Medical Clinic, the Counseling Center, alcohol and drug recovery program space, and sexual violence prevention space.
The first two floors of the space will house campus recreation components, with additional recreation spaces extending throughout all levels of the facility. Programming will include a large gymnasium with basketball courts, open fitness space and equipment, a spin studio, group fitness studios, multipurpose recreation courts, tennis courts, a swimming pool, offices for campus recreation staff, locker rooms and a classroom.
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