Froedtert Awards $4.7 Million For Community Clinic Expansion

Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers clinic (right) and expansion site (left). Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

With a ceremonial toss of the dirt, work got underway on a $9 million expansion of the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers’ (SSCHC) primary clinic and headquarters.

The project will allow the organization to add a pharmacy to the facility, 1032 S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr., and expand the clinical operation to provide more services in one building.

“This new clinic will allow us to expand access to care for thousands of individuals and families and better serve those we are already touching through increased provider capacity and enhanced space for supplemental and community services,” said Dr. Julie Schuller, SSCHC president and CEO.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Froedtert Health announced it was providing $4.7 million to the $9 million project.

“This is really an exciting addition to an important site toward reducing health disparities in our community. It will increase access to care for those who need it the most,” said Dr. Mark Lodes, Froedtert chief medical officer and vice president of population health and medical education. “This gift is a continuation of our longstanding relationship with the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.”

The expansion will take the form of a three-story, 21,000-square-foot structure added to the north end of the existing complex.

“The expansion of our clinic is a shining example of collaboration,” said Schuller. It is expected to be completed in fall 2024.

The new structure will allow the organization, the state’s largest qualified health center, to relocate both its lead clinic and Women, Infant and Children programs from their current location, 1337 E. Cesar E. Chavez Dr., to the larger facility.

It will replace an existing two-story commercial building, 1016-1018 S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr., that the organization acquired for $200,000 in 2022 from El Rey Enterprises.

Groth Design Group is leading the design work on the expansion. Berghammer Construction Corporation is leading the general contracting.

Additional funding for the project comes from other grants. The State of Wisconsin is covering more than $2 million of the project’s costs from its American Rescue Plan Act funds. Governor Tony Evers announced the grant award in March 2022. Congresswoman Gwen Moore also helped secure a federal $1.25 million grant for the project. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration is also providing a $1 million grant.

SSCHC operates a network of seven clinics on the city’s South Side and one in Waukesha. It seeks to provide health care “free from linguistic, cultural and economic barriers.”

The nonprofit has expanded its presence in the neighborhood in recent years, including adding a non-emergency mental health clinic in 2021 at 1635 W. National Ave. and opening a clinic inside of South Division High School last year. It operates clinics in several other schools. Froedtert provided $3.5 million to support the National Avenue clinic, located two blocks north of the latest expansion project.

Part of the latest project involves demolishing a city-owned house to expand parking at the rear of the site.

The only other pharmacy within SSCHC’s network is an Advocate Aurora Health-operated pharmacy within SSCHC’s Parkway Clinic at 2906 S. 20th St. SSCHC will directly operate the new pharmacy.

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