John M. Burnett
The Community Education Coalition will receive $3 million in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) funding for two campus projects and is seeking Tax Increment Funding to further support one of these endeavors.
The coalition plans to request $100,000 from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission at its September meeting to help fund a landscape and access project for the campus’ southwest corner. Redevelopment Director Heather Pope said that the money, if approved, will come from the airport’s TIF District.
The South Central Indiana Talent Region— which includes Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties, as well as Edinburgh — was awarded a $30 million READI grant in December, and state officials have recently begun approving allocations for specific projects.
John Burnett, CEO of the Community Education Coalition, said the $1.3 million in READI funding has been approved for new student-centric spaces at the Columbus Learning Center (CLC) known as the Bridge and Landing. There has been $1.7 million approved for a landscape design project related to the campus’ southwest corner. TIF funding is sought to support the latter project, which has a budget of a little more than $2 million.
Burnett and CEC Executive Director Kathy Oren gave a presentation at Monday’s commission meeting to set the stage for the request. This included a budget showing how various campus investments from the CEC and airpark institutions represent matching funds for the READI grants.
The initiatives are estimated to total $13,426,884 altogether and span 2021 to 2026. This includes about $5.87 million for staffing at the Bridge and Landing, $1.99 million for program infrastructure, $2.4 million for interior renovations and $3.1 million for campus access improvements.
“This is a sizable project for us,” said Burnett. “It’s about a $13.5 million project in total, so what we’re here to request is $100,000, which really is the last piece for infrastructure support for a project on the southwest corner.”
The corner is one piece of a larger long-term project. The Cummins Foundation’s architecture program has provided a grant for a landscape design framework for the airpark campus and a detailed design for its southwest corner. Architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN), 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 CEC helping lead discussions. The project was partially spurred by the construction of Moravec Hall, the new campus building for Ivy Tech Community College – Columbus that now forms part of the airpark campus’ southwest corner.
Burnett noted that architect Kevin Kennon, who designed the Columbus Learning Center, has pointed out that the changes made by Ivy Tech create a hole between the CLC and Moravec Hall.
“You see the space at the southwest corner of the property?” said Burnett. “That’s 12 acres, and that’s a big space.”
He added that there’s also a practical issue regarding access to the service area.
The coalition has a budget of $2.3 million for the southwest corner project. This includes $600,000 that has been raised for design fees and construction administration, as well as the $1.7 million READI grant. The hope is that a $100,000 contribution from the redevelopment commission will bring the project budget to $2.4 million. These funds would go towards infrastructure, such as surveying and geotechnical work.
Design development on the southwest corner project is expected to start soon. After that, the next phase is creating construction documents. The bidding process is expected to occur in February and March of 2023, with construction starting in April and running through September or October, according to Burnett.
He added that while design development has yet to occur, most of the project will likely take place closer to the buildings, as Ivy Tech is in need of a new entrance and access to the service area is needed for the CLC. The design will also need to work within the confines of their $2.3 or $2.4 million budget.
“We all would love to see the parking lot of Ivy Tech that’s right there near the corner of Central and Poshard — everyone would love to see that turned into green space,” said Burnett.
