(Webmaster’s note: If you’ve ever driven past this collection of buildings in Indianapolis, it makes quite the impression.)
Press release from Ivy Tech:
Ivy Tech begins demolition on old St. Vincent property
College’s largest MBE contract for demolition, construction(INDIANAPOLIS – February 12, 2010) Ivy Tech Community College has begun demolition on the former St. Vincent Hospital property on Fall Creek Parkway in Indianapolis.
Ivy Tech will preserve the façade of the historic building and construct a new state-of-the-art classroom building, including a community gathering place.
Demolition is being performed by American Demolition Corporation, a minority business enterprise, and is currently ahead of schedule. Demolition is set to be completed in May 2010 and construction is scheduled to begin directly after demolition. Ivy Tech’s contract with American Demolition Corporation is the largest minority-owned construction/demolition contract in the college’s history.
American Demolition Corporation is recycling 80 to 90 percent of the demolished materials from the property.
The college announced its current plans for the former St. Vincent property in August 2009, per recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Task Force, a committee representing members of the college, community and neighborhood formed in July 2008 to study the use of the building.
The college is in need of additional classroom and lab space, as well as parking, at its downtown campus. Enrollment at Ivy Tech’s Indianapolis campus stands at nearly 25,000 this Spring semester, a more than 40 percent increase over last year. The Indianapolis campus was also named the fastest growing community college in the nation in a report released by Community College Week in late 2008.
A space needs study conducted by Paulien & Associates in 2005-2006 projected that Ivy Tech’s greatest needs, in order to continue to provide its core programs and services, include: classroom spaces, scheduled teaching labs, open labs, and student support spaces (library, bookstore, food services, etc.), even to meet their current student population.
The architectural and cost study for reusing the former St. Vincent Hospital as classrooms concluded that although it is possible to renovate the entire building for instructional use, it was not the most cost effective or the most efficient use of the building.
The former St. Vincent Hospital building, located at Fall Creek Pkwy. North Dr. and Illinois St., was constructed beginning in 1909 and served as St. Vincent Hospital from 1913 to 1974. It was renovated in the mid 1970s into 296 housing units for the elderly, disabled and low-income individuals known as the Weyerbacher Terrace Apartments. It was closed in 2003 and taken over by the federal government. The City of Indianapolis acquired the property in 2004 and it was acquired by Ivy Tech Community College in 2006. The north wing of the building and adjacent structures, not original to the main structure, were removed in 2007.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 130,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
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