The complex is part of a $95 million expansion plan that includes two new "living-learning" residence halls [1] The Health and Wellness Center was proposed in a Board of Governors meeting on November 10, 2004, by the campus Student Government Association.

[2] On October 12, 2006, Marshall University purchased the Twentieth Street Baptist Church for $1 million with the intent of demolition.

[1] On January 24, 2007,[1] the school's board of governors approved a contract to tear down the church in early May; demolition began on May 21.

[3] Construction on the 123,000 sq ft (11,400 m2) recreational center began in July 2007 and was completed and opened to the public on February 5, 2009, at 2pm.he facility features an aquatic center with a 20-person spa, 3 lap lanes, Vortex Pool, and Lesuire area, a three-story climbing wall, a 1/7 mile running/jogging/walking track, courts for racquetball, volleyball and basketball, 4 specialized fitness rooms, and an 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2), 2 floor fitness area with free weights, Nautilus, and cardiovascular machines.

[4][5] The public-private partnership, the first in the state of West Virginia,[5] will help speed up construction and keeps other projects, such as the Engineering laboratory, in the pipeline.