News

Old UHS clinic building shifts purpose

Union South services move to Breese Union Terrace while construction begins in spring

With the demolition of Union South beginning this semester, Breese Terrace Union, located in the old University Health Services building, will house the majority of the displaced services starting in February.

“We’re tearing down walls, moving sinks, moving all of the medical equipment out at this point,” said UW Director of Building Project Communications Shayna Hetzel. “We know that it won’t be a direct replacement of Union South. We hope that it will be dynamic and serve some additional needs that Union South didn’t.”

Services available to students will be a convenience store, pool table, e-mail terminals, lounge space, vending machines and coffee.

The space will also include meeting rooms, a DoIT computer lab, the Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence program, student organization offices and classrooms for mini-courses.

Facilities Director of the Wisconsin Union Paul Broadhead noted the location of the building could decrease daily foot traffic.

The building is located on the corner of University Avenue and North Breese Terrace, about a six-minute walk west from the now closed Union South.

“It’s on the peripheral, and we recognize that,” he said. “We’ll have work to do to ensure that people know it’s there. … People will discover that there are great things to do there that they could not do at Union South.”

Broadhead predicts the building will open in mid-February, though the project is currently several weeks behind schedule.

“We’re limited by what we’re able to do because of the structure of the building and the other tenants,” Broadhead said.

Hetzel also stated that if hazardous materials are found, completion of the project would be further delayed.

The building is currently undergoing a naming contest that will potentially supply a replacement for the temporary “Breese Terrace Union” name.

“We really wanted the students to kind of take ownership in this building and give it the name that they want to call it the next two years,” Broadhead said.

The winning entry will be announced during the first or second week of school.

Other events and services traditionally located at Union South will be moved to several other locations around campus.

Memorial Union is already the temporary home of the Wiscard photo identification office and will also house Midnight Movies, International Conversation and Coffee Hour and the cash office.

The E2 Eatery in Engineering Hall, Capital Cafe in Grainger Hall and ICU Deli in the Medical Science Center will offer additional dining options to offset the eating spaces demolished. Engineering Mall will also host Badger Bash until the exterior green space is completed between Wendt Library and the new Union South.

University Health Services has been permanently relocated to the now-open university portion of University Square on East Campus Mall.

The new Union South is scheduled for completion in spring 2011. Segregated fees will pay for 58 percent of the project’s $87.7 million price tag at a rate of $96 a semester per student until 2040.