Marquette University president Michael Lovell announced plans Thursday for an $80 million wellness and recreation development on the southwestern edge of campus.
The project will involve renovating and expanding Marquette’s existing Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center, located at 525 N. 16th St., into a 180,000-square-foot facility that will centralize student fitness, recreation, counseling and medical services in one location. Currently, those services are dispersed across campus.
The plans for the new facility follow a $10 million giving challenge launched in December by an anonymous alumni couple to fund the integration of student health, wellness and recreation services on Marquette’s campus.
The facility will include renovated portions of the Helfaer Rec Center, including updated facades, and a newly constructed three-story wellness tower in the center of the facility. Interior building systems will also be replaced. Lovell unveiled plans and renderings for the new building during his annual presidential address.
The university aims to complete the facility by the end of 2024, depending on funding. The project would be funded with a combination of philanthropy, external partnerships, university capital, and funds collected through an existing recreation and wellness fee that was passed via a student referendum in 2017-’18.
Fundraising, design work and programmatic planning are underway. The university is working with St. Louis-based HOK and Milwaukee’s Workshop Architects on the building’s design.
The first two floors will house recreation components, with additional recreation spaces located 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.
The wellness tower will include Marquette’s medical clinic, the counseling center, alcohol and drug recovery program space and sexual violence prevention space.
“This will be a transformational project for our campus, particularly for 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. When complete, the facility will position recreation, fitness, clinical and mental health services under one roof.”
