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The state money will be added to $7 million of student fees and $3 million in already-pledged private donations raised to build WSU’s Wellness Center, a multipurpose building that would hold a fitness area, classroom space, counseling and student health services.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful thing,” said Judith Ramaley, president of WSU.
James Schmidt, vice president for university advancement at WSU, said getting the project funded is a huge step for the school, because they consider the Wellness Center as a working model for what they envision education at WSU will be like in the years to come.
“We had a lot riding on this,” said Schmidt. “It will illustrate how the university will work in the future,” Schmidt added.
Though bids for contracts must still be put out, the university plans to break ground on the project this summer, possibly by early July.
“We’re ready to go,” said Schmidt.
Other projects in the state were not so lucky, especially those in the Twin Cities metro area, which took some of the hardest hits in a bonding bill that went from $925 million to $717 million before the governor signed it. One of the biggest projects to lose out was a $70 million proposed Central Corridor light rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Root River, too
Repair and extension work on the Root River Trail also managed to avoid the axe. The bonding bill contains $600,000 for two new trail additions to link Preston, Minn., to Forestville State Park and Houston to Mound Prairie, Minn.
