Work progressing on $105M SIUE Health Sciences Building

The Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) has selected HOK-St. Louis as the preferred architectural design firm for preliminary design of the Health Science Building (HSB) on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.

The CDB released $10,537,000 in planning funds in January 2020 to create preliminary designs for the HSB. The complex will include approximately 221,000 square feet. The project’s total cost is approximately $105 million. It would be the largest building on the SIUE campus.

“For years, SIUE has been a pillar of the community in southern Illinois, providing vital medical services to residents of Edwardsville and beyond. In order to properly prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals, we must give them the tools and facilities that will help them learn, grow and thrive,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “This investment in our students, funded through Rebuild Illinois, will allow future healthcare providers to learn in state-of-the-art classrooms and simulation facilities, strengthening the region’s long-term economic vitality for decades to come.”

SIUE operates a School of Pharmacy (SOP), a School of Nursing (SON), a School of Dental Medicine (SDM) in Alton, and related health sciences programs in various disciplines to serve central and southern Illinois. SON, SOP and various SIUE Health Science programs, particularly in Applied Health, will be housed in the HSB. SDM programs focused in Alton will also interact with programs in the new HSB as part of an emphasis on interprofessional health education. Currently, the SOP is primarily located in three buildings in University Park, while the SON is housed in Alumni Hall within the campus core. The SDM will remain in Alton.

The university has seen broad expansion of the health sciences program in the Department of Applied Health, including exercise science, kinesiology, nutrition and dietetics, public health, and speech-language pathology and audiology. Additional programs in education, psychology and social work throughout the University support integrative learning opportunities for health services professionals on the core campus.

“The new Health Science Building will allow SIUE and the SIU System to expand its leadership in health science education throughout the region,” said SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook. “A Health Sciences Complex has been a long-term plan for many on this campus as our faculty and administrators envisioned a future building that could enrich our programs, create synergies in the health sciences, and expand our capacity to serve SIUE students and the needs of southern Illinois. This new facility will allow our exemplary health sciences programs to flourish and enhance their current capabilities with additional space to facilitate more simulation training, research, and growth.”

The CDB will oversee the project’s design and construction in accordance with protocol for state-appropriated capital projects.

“The Capital Development Board is excited to begin the first phase of design for this much needed educational facility,” said CDB Executive Director Jim Underwood.

As part of the HSB project, renovations and modifications are expected for the existing SOP buildings and the surrounding proposed site in University Park, such as parking lots, sidewalks, pathways and roadways. The HSB will also include considerations for seismic loads and must achieve LEED silver.

The HSB will provide modern classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, faculty offices, administrative spaces, and student resource and study spaces. It would also increase SON student capacity and increase the size of the SON Simulation Laboratory.