A brief history

The grand opening ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 3 p.m.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Sept. 21, 2021, on the Fitness Center lawn.

When it came to the bulding design, students did not want to simply duplicate the 1971-era gyms that were lost in March 2019. They asked for modern, improved spaces and facilities with features to match current and projected student priorities.

The schematic design phase for the project took place from May to August 2020, followed by design development until December 2020.

As of January 2021, the Student Wellness Center has been in the construction documents design phase and plans to be complete by May. 

Beginning  fall semester of 2019, the university, in collaboration with consultants specializing in wellness facility planning and design, conducted outreach to students about their health, wellness and fitness goals as well as about what kind of facility features they would value to help achieve those goals. This was accomplished through:

  • 12 pop-up events
  • 30 presentations to groups, clubs and organizations
  • 42 outreach events
  • 167 collective contact hours
  • 1,746 individual contacts
  • 5,375 votes cast

The most common topic across all conversations with students in terms of their wellness goals was the importance of mental health and well-being.

Students wanted their wellness center to:

  • Be for everyone. Not everyone feels comfortable working out in the current center.
  • Be an integral part of student life everyday.
  • Provide a sense of community and connection for all students.
  • Be inclusive and sustainable.
  • Be filled with open and visually transparent spaces.
  • Include a lot of windows and natural light.
  • Feel warm and comfortable. Make it inviting.

A historic snow accumulation caused the roof collapse of the north and south gyms of the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center and impacted the roof over the pool. Additionally, for at least the past six years, students have been supportive of a new student health center. In both 2014 and in 2016, the ASMSU Senate passed resolutions of support for a new facility, which is used by more than 80% of all students during their time at MSU.