A community is only as healthy as its people. That’s the thesis of the University of Minnesota Community-University Health Care Center, or CUHCC, which has served South Minneapolis for more than six decades.

Nestled in the East Phillips neighborhood, CUHCC (pronounced “kook”) provides comprehensive care to every person who comes through the door, including immigrants, refugees and people who are underinsured or not insured.

CUHCC provides a full suite of medical, dental and behavioral healthcare services with expertise from a team of physicians, nurses, dietitians, mental health professionals, pharmacists, midwives and more. It’s also a teaching clinic, where future healthcare providers receive hands-on training in their chosen professions.

All of this happens under one roof. But today, with nearly 54,000 patient visits annually and demand only increasing, that roof — and the bustling clinic below it — are no longer big enough, says CUHCC CEO Roli Dwivedi, MD.

That’s why the University of Minnesota broke ground on a new CUHCC facility, one that will double the center’s physical footprint and allow its experts to care for many more people — about 83,000 a year by 2034, Dwivedi estimates.

Funded in part by an ongoing $20 million fundraising effort, the new center — slated to open in summer 2027 — will include larger exam rooms that can more easily accommodate family members and interpreters, dedicated behavioral therapy spaces, a more private laboratory testing area and much more.

“It will be a much warmer space for health and healing,” Dwivedi says. “This will enhance our ability to provide our community with whole-person care for decades to come.”

Here’s what the new CUHCC facility will look like once it’s up and running.

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHLEEN FU