Campus to expand

First reported by the Milwaukee Biz Times from a press release, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has agreed to purchase the Columbia-St. Mary’s Hospital for $20.155 million.  The hospital, which will be moving its operations to the new sections of the Lake Drive campus, has been in discussions with UWM for years to sell the grounds, which fit perfectly in the northwest corner of the “footprint.”

The money comes from a state approval for around $30 million to buy and renovate the space.  UWM will go for approval of the funds to the State Building Commission at their next meeting on August 11th.

Purchasing the land will immediately bring the university 962 parking spaces, as well as consolidates UWM land around the corner of Hartford and Maryland.  The only remaining piece of real estate inside the campus that doesn’t belong to the university is the Hartford elementary school of MPS.

“Throughout my tenure at UWM, we have referred to the Columbia St. Mary’s property as the ‘final frontier’ for East Side campus expansion,” said UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago. “I am extremely pleased that UWM and Columbia St. Mary’s have reached an agreement in principle that will make this acquisition possible. It will allow our landlocked campus to partially alleviate an acute need for space and to expand core facilities that will serve future generations of students and community members.