Ball State cuts ribbon on first completed Village revitalization project
On Thursday, Ball State University cut a ribbon on the first completed project for the Village revitalization. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, the overall plan hopes to bring more life and town-gown connectivity to the business district next to campus.
Audio Transcript
According to Ball State officials, the Center for Innovation and Collaboration had a total cost of over $21 million and was completed on time and on budget. It’s on site three of five total sites receiving renovation plans.
But not all those sites are moving on schedule. Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns says the mixed-use Barnes & Noble bookstore and 120 apartments slated for a corner of University and McKinley Avenues is probably at least a year behind.
“But as I’ve learned in these projects,” he said, “you need to be patient and persistent, and that’s what we’ve been. So, our whole vision will be coming to life over the next year or two.”
The original timeline for the bookstore and apartment had a 2026 start date, with construction projected to end in 2028.
The Village project was first announced in 2022. It also includes a performing arts center and hotel, an outdoor public green space and a neighborhood of about two-dozen single-family and townhomes.
Read More: Ball State Village hotel project granted tax abatement for 10 years
Mearns says the performing Arts center will open in December.
The total cost for all plans is an estimated $195 million. The City of Muncie provided $5 million in funding for the project, with an additional $35 million coming from a Lilly Endowment grant.
Discussions around improvements to the Village to bring in new businesses have been happening for more than a decade.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu
