<p>UF will begin construction next year on an extension to the College of Veterinary Medicine's Small Animal Hospital that will boast a 4,500-square-foot facility for the treatment of animals with cancer. </p>
<p>Gene Brandner, the project manager with UF's Facilities Planning & Construction office, said the cancer-treatment facility is what will make the expansion unique. </p>
<p>It will house a linear accelerator, a machine used for radiation treatment for cancer and other illnesses, Brandner explained. </p>
<p>Construction of a separate unit for the linear accelerator is being considered for the project, he added. </p>
<p>The extension, which is part of the UF Campus Master Plan for 2005?2015, is expected to comprise three floors and 98,000 square feet, according to the office's Web site. </p>
<p>Brandner said he wasn't able to estimate the cost of the extension because neither an architect nor an engineer had yet been hired. </p>
<p>After construction, the hospital will contain "all the components of a veterinary hospital." This will include "surgery suites," patient wards and waiting rooms, he said. </p>
<p>The facility will be used for the treatment of small animals, as well as large ones like horses, he added. </p>
<p>The extension will be built over what is the client parking lot of the hospital at the northwest corner of the facility. </p>
<p>The hospital, located at 2015 SW 16th Ave., will be renovated to increase the number of patients it's able to admit. </p>
<p>The renovation will be the building's first since its construction in 1978. </p>
<p>The hospital's "ability to effectively serve the public and protect Florida's animal industry is significantly hampered by the lack of proper facilities," according to the Web site. </p>
<p>Though an architect and engineer haven't been picked, design for the project will begin this summer if the project stays on schedule, Brandner said. </p>
<p>After the design stage, the architect and engineer will be able to determine the cost of construction, he said. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070116vets.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070116vets.php</a></p>