The newest on-campus construction, the state-of-the-art MUSC Health and Clemson comprehensive health care facility, is already knocking the Redfern Health Center out of the park.
Ground has been broken for a new health center, conveniently right on top of our most popular parking lot on campus, C-1. While this location is less than ideal, the benefits of this health center might outweigh the costs of Clemson’s limited parking.
The details of what this over $70 million building will entail are scarce, but they range from counseling all the way to an outpatient surgery center. This health center will have it all: labs, immunizations, pharmacy, increased access to telehealth, you name it. The University is evolving to keep up with constant increase in enrollment, making it crucial that it has the resources for all of its students. While Clemson’s current facility at Redfern is more convenient than this new C-1 build, the building itself is dated, as well as its interior and the equipment used.
The elephant in the room is the parking situation, and while this building is just making the problem worse, a new health center is ultimately more essential than convenient parking. With the increase in downtown apartments, transit systems for neighborhoods that are not downtown and multiple CATbus routes, there are a few workarounds to get to and from campus.
Additionally, there is a confirmed build for a six-story parking garage located in the current C-2 parking lot, “strategically placed near existing surface lots, transit hubs, and the center of campus,” according to the University Facilities Construction Map. This project is a step in the right direction for Clemson, marking the first-ever parking garage built on campus.
The details of the new MUSC health center will develop over the coming months, but the initial news of this build is positive, keeping Clemson students healthy and providing the growing community with the utmost care possible.
Abney Smith is a senior communication major from Marietta, Georgia. Abney can be reached at [email protected].
