IT'S FINALLY HERE. Well, kind of. After years in the planning stages, UW-Eau Claire's Science and Health Sciences Building project is underway (renderings pictured via UWEC) . A recent video shared by UWEC online shows some of the construction progress.

In a recent video shared online by UW-Eau Claire, steady progress is being made on what will be the new five-story, 330,000-square-foot Science and Health Sciences Building. The $340.3 million project spent years in planning stages before officially getting the green light to begin construction from the State Building Commission in December 2024.

Demolition of the Katharine Thomas and Putnam residence halls was completed in 2022 to make way for the new building, which broke ground in June 2024, and will be under construction through 2026 with an estimated fall 2027 opening.

The new Science and Health Sciences Building will be the largest science facility among regional four-year universities in the UW System and the largest academic building on UWEC’s campus. Replacing the university’s longtime science building, Phillips Hall, the new state-of-the-art building is designed for contemporary research efforts and education for current and future STEM students.

Mayo Clinic Health System’s continued collaboration with UWEC – such as the Blugold Biomedical Innovator Program, which provides scholarships to top UWEC students, and the Diagnostic Imaging and Sports Medicine Center at The Sonnentag Center – also includes about 10,000 square feet of space within the Science and Health Sciences Building, which Mayo Clinic donated $13.7 million toward. That space will be used for research and instructional and office space.

Additionally, more demolition is expected to take place at UWEC this summer. With the completion of The Sonnentag Center and The Pablo Center at The Confluence, the university closed Zorn Arena, Brewer Hall, and Kjer Theater last summer. Demolition details for the connected buildings will be shared as they come available. 

Rendering of the Health and Health Sciences building.

Rendering of the Health and Health Sciences building.

Learn more about the Science and Health Sciences Building project and UW-Eau Claire’s related programming and research efforts online.