Taylor University announces $100 million in capital projects

Deanna Watson, Muncie Star Press
·3 min read

UPLAND, Ind. − Taylor University recently announced a plan that will add $100 million in capital projects to the Upland, Ind., campus, funding that will also impact the surrounding community.

The $100 investment, with $70 million already in the works, is part of a five-year strategic plan released in 2022.

Earlier in 2023, the private university founded in 1846 received a $250,000 community planning grant that brought university and community leaders together to identify areas for economic growth and development. One result of the partnered study, according to a release, was the Main Street Mile Initiative ― the plan for a one-mile stretch between Taylor’s campus and downtown Upland.

That study and subsequent planning led to Taylor applying for additional grant money and appealing to private investors, the release stated. An $18 million Upland streetscape project includes a repaved Main Street, wider sidewalks, improved curbs and new streetlights, the release stated. The additions contribute to "a welcoming aethetic for the downtown area," the university stated.

Indiana Secretary of Commerce, David Rosenburg, visited Taylor’s campus earlier this month as a judge for the University’s annual Shark Tank competition event.

“I’m thrilled to see Taylor University continue to build upon its legacy as a top-notch academic institution in the state committed to making positive change,” stated Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg, who visted the Upland campus to serve as a judge in Taylor's annual "Shark Tank" inspired competition.

“Taylor is thriving and is well-equipped to lead the charge for economic growth and development in Upland, not just by enhancing its own campus, but also by investing in key areas of its community.”

The $100 million investment targets five core areas:

  • Academic buildings

  • Dining facilities

  • Residence life

  • Hospitality

  • Co-curricular investments.

And significant projects include the Horne Academic Center, the release stated, a 45,000-square-foot academic facility projected to open in August 2024. The center will house Taylor's reknown Film and Media Arts program, as well as the university's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Taylor's School of Nursing will benefit from the renovations to the Nussbaum Science Center, expected to begin in December. Renovations of the Nussbaum Science Center will begin next month, resulting in a first-class training facility for Taylor’s future School of Nursing. The Don Wood Foundation pledged $2 million toward enhancing Taylor’s engineering facilities, the release stated.

Other projects include a 650-seat event center with outdoor dining and gathering spaces overlooking Taylor Lake, and Taylor recently broke ground on apartment-style housing for upperclassmen and graduate students, the university stated.

“These are exciting times of growth and investment,” said President Michael Lindsay, in the release. “We are working hard to make the Taylor campus more beautiful, engaging, and an inspiring place where our students can thrive. From new academic spaces to residence halls, to co-curricular investments, we want this campus and our local community, which students call home, to be a great place of flourishing.”

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Taylor University announces $100 million in capital projects