A Catalyst of Place
Renderings of the Performing Arts Center (seen here on the corner of University and McKinley Avenues) and Tapestry by Hilton hotel (below) show the beauty and modern appeal of what’s to come in The Village. Renderings by Ratio Architects
New Performing Arts Center plans, funding advance
The pillars of the Our Call to Beneficence campaign broadly focus on three things: people, programs, and places. Regarding focus on place, The Village—the commercial district immediately adjacent to campus—is at the top of the list.
Support from the campaign will play a significant role in Ball State’s overall revitalization of The Village, an effort beginning to hit its stride in the planning and fundraising stages.
The University is working to create a best-in-class, multigenerational district driven by arts and culture, entertainment, and innovation with a new select-service hotel, new dining, retail, service, living, and gathering options. The catalyst of the entire project is a new Performing Arts Center (PAC)— a two-story structure on the corner of University and McKinley Avenues.
The PAC will be funded with philanthropic support. In December 2022, Ball State announced a $5 million gift from Marianne Glick and her husband, Mike Woods, for the Center.
“Reimagining The Village as an arts-themed destination for the region will coalesce the existing arts amenities at Ball State around this new Performing Arts Center and will activate other significant commercial and residential development that are much needed in this community,” said Ms. Glick, a former Ball State University Board of Trustees member of 10 years. “The Village will once again be a regional destination—one that will play a critical role in the community’s efforts to attract and retain talent and improve the quality of place in Muncie.”
In December, Ball State received a major grant for the Performing Arts Center—the single largest gift in the history of the University—from Lilly Endowment Inc. Ball State was awarded $35 million for its Village Revitalization plan through the College and Community Collaboration initiative—an allocation of up to $300 million by the Endowment to be awarded to Indiana colleges and universities undertaking collaborative projects with community stakeholders that enhance the quality of life and place in their surrounding communities.
“I am grateful to the Lilly Endowment,” said Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns. “The Lilly Endowment’s extraordinary philanthropic investment and the other gifts that we have received for the Performing Arts Center demonstrate great confidence in our vision for The Village.
“Our benefactors want to see our talented students in the Department of Theatre and Dance perform in a beautiful, modern venue,” President Mearns said. “Our students will certainly benefit from this new facility—and so will our community, because the Performing Arts Center will catalyze the revitalization of The Village, thereby enhancing quality of place and stimulating economic growth in Muncie and in East Central Indiana.”
In late January, the University’s Board of Trustees approved five important contracts to advance The Village revitalization plan. In addition to a 75-year ground lease with Indianapolis-based Schahet Hotels and two purchase agreements for seven properties located on two Village sites, the Board also authorized two Build Operate Transfer agreements to advance the design and construction of the PAC and Center for Innovation.
A quick look at expected economic impact as a result of adding Performing Arts Center and Tapestry by Hilton hotel to The Village: Sources: Schahet Hotels, American Hotel and Lodging Association, Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance, IMPLAN economic modeling
Rendering Tapestry by Hilton hotel
The Center for Innovation will include a prototyping lab and an expansion of the Emerging Media Development and Design program. The facility also will house Lifetime Learning, career professional development, and more. The Center will be a three-story structure at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Martin Street, just south of the new Alderdice Gates.
“As we advance in the execution of the revitalization plan for The Village, there are many opportunities for donors to participate in many philanthropic ways,” said Mark Helmus, the Ball State University Foundation’s chief advancement officer. “I think that is what makes this work so fulfilling. The Village is a special place to everyone in the Ball State community. Now there is a way to make a lasting impact for future generations of Cardinals, so they can share in the fondness The Village creates for everyone, including our community.”
At the meeting in January, the Board of Trustees received updates on the 95-room Tapestry by Hilton hotel, which will connect to the Performing Arts Center. In addition to a 1,200-square-foot lobby, 1,110 square feet of meeting spaces, and a large fitness room, the hotel will feature a 4,300-square-foot ground-floor bar and restaurant with outdoor seating and a similarly-sized rooftop bar and lounge with a covered outdoor terrace.
The Board also received updates on the concepts for the mixed-use project to be constructed on the southeast corner of McKinley and University Avenues and the residential neighborhood that is planned east of The Village in the Riverside-Normal neighborhood.
