An Olympic-sized pool, rock climbing wall, demonstration kitchen and athletic center — all new aspects coming to the HealthEU Building.
The new Health EU building will be constructed in the field near the Innovation Quad and is set to open in 2026. HealthEU Director Anu Räisänen said groundbreaking will hopefully occur late this year or early 2025, as soon as the final details of architecture renderings are completed.
The new HealthEU building will be the second largest building on campus below Schar Center at 135,000 square feet. Fundraising goals for the building aim to be around $25 million, surpassing the $20 million needed to build the Schar Center — making it the most expensive building on campus.
Räisänen began at Elon University in August as the inaugural Director of the HealthEU Program and is already hopeful about the new possibilities coming to the program’s new building.
“I think as soon as those plans are ready, there's no reason to wait for the groundbreaking,” Räisänen said. “So as soon as we know what exactly the blueprints are, I think we want to get that going.”
The dimensions of HealthEU — community, emotional, financial, purpose, physical, and social well-being — are all getting incorporated into the new space. Räisänen said each of the dimensions will be included in the building: Physical well-being spaces will include the new pool area, rock climbing wall, athletic center and healthy eating spaces like the demonstration kitchen; emotional well-being spaces getting added to the building include the new counseling services and meditation spaces; financial well-being is being incorporated through educational programs, but also the building will be a space where students can spend time together without having to spend money.
The building itself will serve to support community well-being as a gathering space for the Elon community.
Sophomore Jonathan Loeb, a HealthEU coordinator for the Leadership Fellows Program, said he thinks the new building will help the community.
“I think that it will make people a lot more excited about health because it's going to be a brand new space, and everyone loves brand new spaces,” Loeb said. “It kind of brings people together into doing something new.
Räisänen said she is excited about everything students will have access to in the new building, highlighting several features like a new pool, demonstration kitchen and climbing wall.
“If you've been to the pool here, you know that this is going to be a big change, and hopefully we can provide students more opportunities,” Räisänen said. “Whether that is students who are already used to swimming or doing activities in the water, or whether that is the students who don't actually know how to swim.”
Beyond features, Räisänen said she hopes people will come into the building and find other ways to enjoy the space.
"They might come to use the counseling services on the third floor, or they might come and go to a classroom on the second floor," Räisänen said. "They might see some new opportunities for health promotion."
Räisänen began working at Elon in August after moving from her last job at the Western University of Health Sciences in Oregon. She said she is spending her first days at Elon in meetings, getting to know all the people who contribute to HealthEU.
“I'm trying to learn as much as possible about all those good things, and then talking to people, how we can fill the gaps, or identify the gaps, or what do we need?” Räisänen said. “What do we don't have yet, and what can we work on together, ideally, to create these collaborative projects between the departments or institutions within Elon University.”
Additionally, Räisänen said she is connecting with students in the student government association, student organizations and at College Coffee. HealthEU is also in the process of setting up a student advisory group to further student feedback within the program.
“I think overall, the goal is that as we move forward and build HealthEU, even before we have that new, wonderful building, we have more things that people associate, that they took part in, that are part of HealthEU,” Räisänen said.
Räisänen said she hopes that people will remember the new building when they visit campus and see the importance of well-being to the community.
“Hopefully it is a thing that people remember from Elon, and they have this perception, even after their first visit to Elon, that in this community, we care about everybody's well being and health here,” Räisänen said. “We want to make well being and individual wellness a big part of the community.”