In addition to the major reconstruction projects planned for the HUB, the Ethnic Cultural Center and the UW Business School, the Hall Health Primary Care Center (HHPCC) will also undergo a significant renovation during the next few years.

The estimated cost of the renovation, which will be paid for by students through the Services and Activities Fee fund, is $9.7 million . The project is expected to be completed in 2009.

David C. Dugdale, the HHPCC director, said the need for improving Hall Health’s capacity and facilities has become increasingly apparent. The most notable problems include the building’s confusing hallways, lack of waiting room areas for patients and the general lack of space.

“We’ve had many comments over the years about what it’s like to sit in a hall when you’re sick, and what it’s like when you can’t help but overhear another student’s private medical conversation,” Dugdale said. “The most important thing will be the major increase in privacy for the patient.”

Senior Emily Manahan, who is a peer educator and a student employee at Hall Health, said she thinks that the renovation is absolutely necessary.

“Hall Health serves an important role on campus. Right now, there is not enough room in the building for people to fulfill their roles,” she said. “The renovation will help make serving the UW population easier for people who work here.”

Other students have used Hall Health’s services and found the inefficient layout and lack of waiting rooms to be bothersome. UW senior Emily Van der Harten will be studying abroad this coming fall, but has elected to have her pre-departure health screening at her home physician’s office, largely because the wait at the Hall Health travel clinic can be too long

“Hall Health right now is really inconvenient,” Van der Harten said. “They really need to remodel it so they can accommodate students’ needs.”

Floor plans for the project, which will include extensive internal renovation of the ground, first and third floors, were submitted in February by the contracted architectural firm Taylor, Gregory and Butterfield.

The remodel will increase the first floor’s capacity by 33 percent. The floor, which houses the immunization clinic, pharmacy, travel clinic and children’s clinic. The first floor reception area will also be redesigned to increase accessibility.

“The current layout of the ground floor is quite peculiar,” Dugdale said.

The women’s clinic is housed in the east side of the ground floor, which was expanded in 1978 to include its own entrance at the back of the building.

“In the 1970s, it was extremely controversial to have a women’s clinic that prescribed birth control,” Dugdale explained. “So it had to have its own entrance.”

The remodel will also add space for a waiting room area, meaning that the 11,000 students who receive shots at the immunization clinic every year will have a place to sit.

The renovation will be under the oversight of the advisory committee, which includes two undergrads from ASUW, two grad students from the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and two appointees from the Health Sciences Department.

“Now, we’re on a pretty concrete schedule,” Dugdale said.

The architects are expecting to finish the design by July 2009. Construction will start in September or October of 2009. The goal is then to have the project completed within a year.

“Our biggest challenge will be to stay open during construction,” Dugdale said. “We’ve organized a phased chart of how we will continue to accommodate students during that time.”