CSU plans $59M campus medical center

A four-story, $59 million Colorado State University medical center will be built on the northwest corner of Prospect Road and College Avenue in Fort Collins.

The CSU System Board of Governors approved the plan Thursday in Denver. Pending approval of a financing plan, construction at the southeast corner of campus could begin in the fall with a completion goal of late 2016, according to CSU.

In addition to housing the CSU Health Network, a full-service health center for students and staff, it will include public health services via a walk-in clinic and a new Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging, according to CSU.

The medical center is planned to be 113,000 square feet.

Bob and Kitty Wilson donated $5 million to the project and UCHealth will contribute an additional $5 million, according to CSU. Additional costs will be covered by tenant lease payments and revenues from the CSU Health Network.

Amy Parsons, CSU vice president for university operations, said the project will serve to combine “all of our medical services under one roof.”

CSU President Tony Frank said after the board’s vote that he is a “huge fan” of the project because of how convenient it will be for staff, the community and students. He also elaborated on how important its location is for people visiting campus.

People seeing the campus from Prospect now, “they don’t know they’re seeing it,” Frank said. “That’s a spot we want, when they arrive, to have an impression that underscores the quality of the university. And I think this project will do it.”

The CSU Health Network employes about 250 people in two locations on campus now, according to CSU. Aylesworth Hall, an old residence hall, was built in 1956 and later converted into administrative offices. Hartshorn Health Services Building was built in 1964 as a clinic and infirmary when CSU’s enrollment was a third of what it is now.

Coloradoan reporter Kelly Lyell contributed to this report from Denver.

At a glance: CSU medical center

What: A $59 million medical center housing CSU Health Network services for students and staff, plus a walk-in health clinic for the public and the Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging.

Where: Northwest corner of Prospect Road and College Avenue in Fort Collins

When: Pending financing approval, construction will begin this fall, with the center opening in late 2016