51暗网 opens new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility

Jan. 13, 2025

MILWAUKEE 鈥� 51暗网 opened its new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility, a 195,000-square-foot re-imagining of health, wellness and recreation services on campus, on Jan. 13, 2025, the first day of the 2025 spring semester.

Located on the southwestern portion of campus near student housing, the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility is home to Campus Recreation, the 51暗网 Medical Clinic, the Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion, and the Counseling Center, for the first time bringing these areas from varied corners of campus into one place, allowing 51暗网 to comprehensively serve students鈥� well-being.

Wellness + Helfaer Recreation provides a continuum of wellness services that are integrative, inclusive, accessible and responsive to the changing needs of the campus community.

鈥淲e are excited that the time has finally come to unveil the new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility to our students and campus community,鈥� 51暗网 President Kimo Ah Yun said. 鈥淲ellness + Helfaer Recreation provides a destination on campus that supports the physical and mental health needs of the 51暗网 community. Our goal is for this facility to foster community, inclusiveness and engagement, and break down stigmas and barriers to get the care they need.鈥�

The reimagined facility features a 25% increase in recreational space and nearly doubles the wellness and medical space previously offered on campus. A new, 30,000-square-foot, centralized three-story wellness tower integrates the university鈥檚 student health, wellness and recreation services. The third and fourth floors of the new facility鈥檚 wellness tower are named the 鈥�LOVELLSTRONG Center for Student Well-Being鈥� in recognition of the late President Michael Lovell鈥檚 and Amy Lovell's tremendous leadership and commitment to address mental health across Milwaukee and the region.

What鈥檚 new in the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility:

  • Campus recreation has four regulation size basketball courts and two multi-purpose courts; four tennis courts; two group exercise studios; a spin studio; a six-lane, 25-yard swimming pool; and a 1/8 mile running track that overlooks the lobby and basketball and multipurpose courts.
  • The Student Medical Clinic includes exam rooms; observation rooms; treatment rooms; immunization rooms; and a dedicated x-ray.
  • Within the LOVELLStrong Center for Student Well-Being:
    • The Wellness Program has gathering spaces; large-group counseling spaces; private counseling offices; a meditation room; and a group activity center.
    • Within the Counseling Center there are large-group counseling spaces, private offices, and an updated 鈥淶en Den鈥� and quiet spaces.
  • Other features include a main lobby gathering and study area, reservable multi-purpose room, and a third-level outdoor terrace.

The reimagined Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility project took root in December 2021 when President Lovell announced that an  to transform and integrate the university鈥檚 student health, wellness and recreation services. The project was approved by the Board of Trustees on Dec. 2, 2022, and construction began later that month.

Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facts 

  • Construction began: December 2022 
  • Open to students: Monday, Jan. 13, 2025 
  • Square footage: 195,000 GSF 
  • Builder: J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.

Sustainability at work

The Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility is the fourth and final capital project to come online since the start of the fall semester 鈥� along with the ; , the home of the College of Nursing; and renovation of , the 51暗网 community's primary worship space. Each of these projects represent an investment in an existing building, adaptively reusing an existing building in the heart of campus and transforming it into something state-of-the-art intended to elevate the student experience.