UA News

A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 12 for the downtown Phoenix Health Sciences Education Building.

PHOENIX – The shovels were in the dirt on Wednesday for the construction of the new Health Sciences Education Building on the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

"Today, we have moved one step closer to fulfilling the urgent need for health care professionals in our state," said Arizona Board of Regents President Ernest Calderón. "This one-of-a-kind interdisciplinary facility will provide greater access to medical education in Arizona and will have a tremendous economic impact on the state by creating new jobs and pumping revenue into the economy."

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held May 12 for the building, part of the expansion of the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix. Gov. Jan Brewer; House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa; Senate Minority Leader Jorge Luis Garcia, D-Tucson; Arizona Board of Regents President Ernest Calderón; Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon; University of Arizona President Robert Shelton; and Northern Arizona University President John Haeger all took part in the ceremony at the campus, near Seventh Street and Van Buren.

"The Health Sciences Education Building will have a profound impact on the University of Arizona's ability to educate doctors and relieve our state's critical shortage of physicians and health care professionals," Shelton said. "These students – future physicians, pharmacists, nurses, public health and allied health professionals – will serve Maricopa County, Arizona and our nation."

After approval from the Arizona Board of Regents, the state Legislature and Gov. Brewer, plans were developed for the $187 million, 268,000-square-foot education building that will house the expansion of the medical school, as well as programs from the UA College of Pharmacy, the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Northern Arizona University College of Health and Human Services programs.

The new building will allow the College of Medicine - Phoenix to expand its class size to 120 students per year (from 48 per year). It also creates space for training other health sciences students and for interdisciplinary education, with classrooms, labs, pre-clinical training suites, a learning resource center, study areas and faculty offices.

The UA College of Pharmacy also will have programs in the new building, with plans to build a program around the emerging understanding of the genetic basis for diagnosis and treatment of disease. The College of Pharmacy will continue to have fourth-year students in the Phoenix area.

Northern Arizona University will begin its critical need physician assistant and occupational therapy programs and expand its doctor of physical therapy program in the new building with plans to graduate 150 new primary care health professionals each year.

"Northern Arizona University will continue to develop programs that provide solutions to Arizona's most pressing primary care and therapy needs," Haeger said. "The biomedical campus allows us to continue our innovative interdisciplinary teaching and research in partnership with UA. All Arizona will benefit for many years to come."

Shelton added, "From an economic standpoint, the building will help transform Arizona's economy. It solidifies the Phoenix Biomedical Campus as the center of biomedical innovation, research and engineering. The Health Sciences Education Building will help the UA increase our research portfolio and enhance and establish important biotechnology partnerships in greater Phoenix."

The new building is part of the overall plan to create a major academic health center in downtown Phoenix that will include health education facilities, research and clinical programs. In addition to the medical school, the Phoenix Biomedical Campus is home to Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and has been developed over the last five years by the Arizona Board of Regents, the state universities and the City of Phoenix.

DPR Construction and Sundt Construction, Inc., in a joint venture, are the builders with architects Ayres/Saint/Gross and CO Architects.