University to purchase two buildings on Shelby Street

Dear UIndy Community:

I write to let you know that the Board of Trustees has agreed to purchase two buildings on Shelby Street (just north of the Shelby Bowl) that are currently owned by the CTP Corporation. These two buildings will be converted into classroom and lab spaces, and will soon house the R.B. Annis Engineering Program and the Shaheen College Department of Art and Design.

The generosity of the R.B. Annis Foundation is largely responsible for our ability to secure these buildings, which will provide much needed classroom space, additional parking, and student community space on campus. It will take about 18 months for us to design and build out the buildings, but I wanted you to know that we are moving in that direction.

With this new space, we will be able to:

1. Move the Art Department into a larger space that will enable them to continue the development of their programs;
2. Decompress the Music programs into the rest of the Christel DeHaan building once the Department of Art and Design relocates;
3. Address the amount of space that Engineering, Art and Design, and Music have to educate their students – a main concern of their accrediting bodies;
4. Add a significant amount of parking to our campus; and
5. Facilitate opportunities for Art and Engineering to work together and provide ways to join their students in creative projects.

We will keep you informed about the design and build-out of these buildings as more information becomes available.

Thanks,

Rob L. Manuel, President