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Amanda J. Billings
Director of Marketing and Communications
Phone: 812.330.6222
Fax: 812. 330.6106
email: abillings7@ivytech.edu
This Story is provided by The Herald Times

Life sciences center bond moves forward

$5 million bond for Ivy Tech center would be funded by TIF revenues

By Leora Baude
349-1412
lbaude@heraldt.com
March 27, 2007

Plans for a life-sciences training center at Ivy Tech moved forward Monday when the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission passed a bond resolution to finance the new training facility.

The $5 million bond will be funded by Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, revenues. That’s money annually paid in property taxes on new development within the TIF district that helps finance economic development projects between West Third Street and Vernal Pike, west of the Ind. 37 Bypass.

Greg Guerrettaz, independent financial adviser to the redevelopment commission, said county taxes would be designated as a backup funding source to qualify for lower interest rates, but that he was confident they would not be needed.

The facility, to be located north of the Ivy Tech-Bloomington campus, is intended to prepare people for jobs in the life sciences. It will house four labs and three classrooms, along with space for equipment training by local life-science companies.

The center will be run as a public-private partnership involving Bloomington area life-sciences companies as well as Ivy Tech.

“Construction of this building will enable lots of space opening at Ivy Tech; in that sense, it will open a lot of things for an Ivy Tech school that is busting at the seams,” said Clint Merkel, community development director for the county.

Project costs


Land: $0 (Ivy Tech is providing the land).
Construction costs: $4,390,000.
Architect fees: $360,000.
Furnishings and technical equipment: $250,000.
Insurance: $10,000.
Total costs: $5,010,000.

 County council member Sophia Travis spoke at the meeting, making a plea for the volunteer RDC to invest more time in educating the public about its activities.

“What happens in that TIF area is having a profound impact on what Monroe County looks like,” Travis said.

A public hearing by the redevelopment commission on the project is scheduled for April 11 at 4 p.m. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance will hold a hearing on the bond issue on April 26.

Guerrettaz was optimistic about the next steps. “The stars are aligning very well,” he said. “We’ll see how the bids come in.”