Washington funds $32M expansion to university medical center
Washington – State legislators recently approved a two-year $4.9 billion capital budget that focuses on projects in areas of behavioral health, affordable housing, education and the environment. The budget includes $927 million to construct facilities at public colleges and universities. The University of Washington Medical Center will receive $32 million for the predesign, planning and design of a new, 150-bed behavioral health teaching facility.
The 80,748-square-foot facility will house the exercise sciences, clinical physiology, nutrition, paramedicine and public health programs. Pending Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature, the university will go out for bid in August, with construction happening between October 2019 and September 2021.
The university also received $5 million to start the initial design phase of a renovation and expansion of Nicholson Pavilion, which will provide more space for the department of physical education, school health and movement studies. Once the budget is approved, the university will spend the next two years working with an architectural firm on the details. The university plans to go back to the Legislature in 2021 to ask for the $60 million required to do the project.