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Student organizations at UNM are pushing for a new wellness center on campus.
Students, staff and community members looked at nine potential amenities packages Monday at the Student Union Building for the planned wellness center and voted on which they most wanted.
The forum was the first of two planned forums that aim to get feedback from students on the center. Representatives from the Graduate and Professional Student Association, the Hartman and Majewski Design Group and UNM Planning and Campus Development were present to provide information to students.
Potential features included an activity group and fitness center, a multi-activity court, a climbing wall, an indoor jogging track, a martial arts studio, an indoor cycling studio, a retail and social space, a leisure pool and a fitness and weight training room.
James Foty, executive assistant to the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, said a lot of organizations besides GPSA have been involved in planning the building, including the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico and the Student Health and Counseling. He said the Office of the Provost has played a major part in coordinating the project.
Emily Brudenell, project manager for Hartman and Majewski Design Group, an outside consultant for the planned facility, said the number of amenities included in the wellness center would depend on student feedback.
“If there’s enough interest, all of them could go in,” she said. “Of course, it’s this balance between cost versus what we want. That’s kind of where the tipping point is and we’re still trying to figure that out.”
Brudenell said the project is still in the preliminary stages of design.
“We’re just trying to get student feedback at this point, just seeing what student priorities are for the building,” she said.
The opening date for the first phase of development is scheduled for fall 2018, but is subject to change, Brudenell said.
Ben Savoca, facility planner for UNM Planning and Campus Development, said the University’s long-term Health and Wellness Master Plan is divided into four phases, but the forum aimed to gather information only for the first phase, which involves constructing the wellness center.
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Savoca said during phase one, the recreational area and SHAC would both be moved into a separate area, allowing Johnson Center to remain open.
He said subsequent phases involve moving Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences into the existing SHAC building to renovate the west side of Johnson, reconstructing the interior of Johnson Center and improving the Armond H. Seidler Natatorium. He said the completion dates for the remaining three phases are undetermined.
While the Board of Regents will have to vote on the budget at some point, Foty said they are not involved in this stage of the project.
Foty said his organization this year aims to communicate the details of the project to students, such as why a new wellness center is needed, the project’s timeline and how much of student funds are needed to pay. He said funding for the project is still under discussion.
“They have a budget now that they’re saying is between $58 million to $71 million for baseline,” he said. “And from that, we can determine what the funding model should be.”
Brudenell said that while a lot of funding from the project would have to come from student fees, the University is seeking other potential sponsors.
“We’re trying to figure out other sources of funds through donations to the foundation, through incorporating faculty and staff,” she said. “Unfortunately, the burden is going to be on the students, but we’re trying to defray that about multiple sources as much as possible.”
She said she thinks that a project like this would be beneficial to UNM.
“Something like this could really put UNM on the map, especially this kind of urban and collegiate relationship with phase one,” she said.
There will be another forum about the planned wellness center today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at the same venue.
