The University of New Brunswick is moving ahead with plans to build a $36-million Centre for Healthy Living to provide teaching and research space for the faculty of kinesiology.

The new building will be adjacent to the Richard J. Currie Center and directly linked to the Andrew and Marjorie McCain human performance lab.

"It's a huge investment for us," said Wayne Albert, the dean of kinesiology. "It'll allow all of our researchers to have space and innovative spaces that are all [working in synergy] in the same vicinity, working collaboratively to solve big problems with health.

"This new facility will allow us to be part of the community and provide research to this province on a daily basis and the impact will be seen right here in this province."

Funding commitments from the federal and provincial governments were announced Tuesday, with Ottawa providing $16.59 million and the New Brunswick government providing $8.29 million. The university will spend $11.1 million on the project

UNB president Eddy Campbell said the centre has been on the university's priority list for almost 10 years.

"The University of New Brunswick will use this new space to grow our nationally significant research cluster focuses on health, wellness, physical fitness and health promotion that will help establish New Brunswick as a leader in preventative health care," said Campbell.