Work on Moravec Hall continues

Ivy Tech Community College – Columbus’ new Moravec Hall is up and running, though there are still some details to be worked through.

The campus board of trustees had its first meeting in the new building Tuesday, which has replaced Poling Hall as the main campus building. However, rather than meeting in the new boardroom, college officials gathered in a dental classroom for the session.

The boardroom’s table has not arrived yet, explained Chancellor Steve Combs. It’s supposed to be in by the end of July.

“We are behind on a lot of logistics things, mainly in the microprocessor room, as you can imagine,” said Combs. “Still some furniture. We do have the big Iwamoto design light going into the community, the commons area, so we’ll see that all of the tables are moved out for that. So (it is) still very much an active worksite.”

Ivy Tech began holding a select number of classes in the new building in late May. Demolition of the previous campus building, Poling Hall, is continuing.

The college plans to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Moravec Hall on Oct. 5 from 4-6 p.m. Combs said that special guests will include college officials from across Ivy Tech’s statewide network. Gov. Eric Holcomb has been invited as well, and state trustee Jesse Brand said that officials also hope to have Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery attend.

“It’s going to be a really great event,” said Combs. “We’ve got some exciting things planned.”

He also mentioned that school officials continue to be involved in the airpark campus landscape design project, which was partially spurred by the construction of Moravec Hall.

The Cummins Foundation’s architecture program is providing a grant for a landscape design framework for the campus and a detailed design for its southwest corner. Architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, based in Seattle, was selected as the project’s designer from a shortlist recommended by the foundation.

The landscape design project has involved a number of community and campus stakeholders, with the Community Education Coalition helping lead discussions.

Combs said that the college hopes to have more information about the landscape project and funding sources soon, especially in regards to the southwest corner. It’s expected that a full report will be given at the board’s September meeting.