UF's Student Health Care Center, known as the infirmary, will eventually be moving out of the center of campus to Radio Road, near the Lakside Residential Complex.
First, though, Student Mental Health Services and the Counseling Center will merge their services and relocate to the new center near Lakeside, with plans to open in the summer of 2010, said counseling center director Sherry Benton, who will be director of the new mental health services organization.
The new center will cost about $7.7 million.
The building will be funded by the Capital Improvement Trust Fund, which is supported by student fees at state universities, according to project manager Scott Whiddon.
Funding for the building was secured four or five years ago, Whiddon said.
It is unclear when construction on the second phase of the project will begin, which will allow the rest of UF's health services to occupy the building, Whiddon said.
The decision to move health services out of its current location on Fletcher Drive, surrounded by the most-used classroom buildings in the core of campus, was made to alleviate high demand at the current health center.
Initially, UF sought to expand on the current site but found it would require too much restructuring, Whiddon said.
Benton said the move worries her because it'll mean a longer trip for some students seeking medical attention.
"On the other hand, many thousands make it to Southwest [Recreation Center] every week," she said.
She said the new facility will have more parking and a covered bus stop.
"In some ways, it'll be more convenient, in some ways it'll be a little less convenient," she said, "depending on where you have your classes."
Combining the two this year was done as a result of budget cuts, with the merger expected to save UF about $520,000 a year, though the two will not merge into the single facility until 2010.
However, Benton said, UF has considered the move for about 25 years and has watched other universities do the same with positive results.
Benton said the merger will not involve any layoffs, though three already empty positions were left unfilled due to cuts.
Also, she said, students should still receive the same level of care, if not better.
"We have such an opportunity to reinvent ourselves," she said. "This is one case where budget cuts may result in positive outcomes."
