UW-Madison administrators have yet to set a date to demolish University Square and replace it with a new University Health Services building, despite UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley calling it a top priority.
According to Trent Krupp, chair of the Associated Students of Madison subcommittee on the UHS and student activity center building, the new facility has experienced delays due to lengthy negotiations between UW-Madison and property owners of University Square, where UHS and the ASM subcommittee hope to build.
\The biggest reason why the building was delayed was because we had site problems,"" Krupp said, referring to uncertainty of whether the university would own or lease the space.
Director of UHS Kathy Poi said there might be further delays due to the current budget crisis. She said the construction date will ""truly depend on access to money.""
State fees will cover roughly 60 percent of the UHS component and 40 percent of the student activities center portion, Krupp said. He said student segregated fees will fund the rest of the building, which will have to be approved by ASM.
According to Krupp, the new building will house UHS and a student activity center for more than 70 student organizations.
Poi said it is crucial that UHS move into a new building with more space. University Square is a great location, she said, because it is centrally located on campus. She said she expects the better location will result in increased utilization, resulting in a larger staff at UHS.
""UHS is currently actually in two different buildings about six blocks apart which makes it very hard to run an interdisciplinary practice,"" she said.
Additionally, Poi said both of the current UHS buildings are in poor condition. Also, the clinical building is inconveniently located for students, she said.
The added space will allow UHS to expand, possibly adding new departments that are currently unavailable to students.
""Because of the fact that we will have significantly more space than we currently have, it will allow us to add services if we so choose,"" she said. ""One of the things we're looking at is some sports medicine services above and beyond what we currently do.""
ASM Chair Bryan Gadow said the student activity center will be helpful for many student groups who are suffering now with little or no space.
""This will definitely give student organizations that have space already on campus to have space in a more centrally located area, but it also allows those student organizations that are operating without any space ... the opportunity to get some shared space,"" he said.
