university of arizona announced new teaching and research medical facility plans

A new 34,000 square foot building that will house advanced integrative medicine research may be going up near the main campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

School officials have said that they would like to see construction begin on the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine sometime next year with a completion date set for some time in 2022.

The building is one of several new construction and existing facility upgrades that have been submitted to the Arizona Board of Regents for approval.

If approved, the structure would go up near the intersection of East Mabel Street and North Vine Avenue in a neighborhood populated with offices and single-story houses.

According to the capital plan submitted to the regents, the new facility would be designed to offer a “physical environment that supports the evidence-based philosophy of integrative medicine.”

The document further states that the center will “support a distinctive life-enhancing environment that will attract the local community, national, and international visitors.”

The building would be named in honor of well-known physician Andrew Weil, a prominent proponent of alternative medicine and therapies.

A program, also named in honor of Weil, has been up and running on the UA campus since 1994.

Funding to build the new center is expected to come primarily through private donations.

By Garry Boulard

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