October 21, 2004

Antioch McGregor to move to local commerce park

By Lauren Heaton

What once was a far-off plan for Antioch University McGregor to move to the village’s southwestern edge to anchor the Yellow Springs commerce park is fast becoming a reality. On Saturday the Antioch University Board of Trustees approved by 18–2 a resolution to move ahead with plans to establish a Campus West at the commerce park, located on the corner of East Enon and Dayton-Yellow Springs Roads.

“What really struck the board was that all five members of the Village Council showed up, many members of the CIC showed up, the school superintendent came to the trustees’ meeting, and we were moved by it,” University board chair Dan Kaplan said Monday. “We really see this not only as a great location for McGregor but as a really exciting way for Antioch University to reconnect with the Miami Valley and specifically with the Yellow Springs community.”

The trustees approved the plan to begin building the educational facility at a cost not to exceed $15 million. Yellow Springs Community Resources, the village’s community improvement corporation (CIC), has agreed to act as the financial agency that will own the land and build the building, both of which McGregor will lease long term, Kaplan said.

Community Resources, a bonding authority, is currently preparing an application to receive state and federal bonds to pay for a construction project based on McGregor’s educational needs and architectural plans, YSCR member Dan Young said. Community Resources plans to break ground in June 2005 and expects to have the project completed 18 months to two years beyond that, he said.

“Antioch’s decision is fantastic for our community,” Young said. “It’s a big deal, and it’s going to attract education to the Miami Valley area and help get the Antioch name out there again.”

McGregor has recorded consistent growth of 10 percent in the past several years and needs space with technological savvy to expand into, according to McGregor’s president, Barbara Gellman-Danley. The school plans to pay for the project using tuition from increasing enrollment, online course approval fees from two educational firms McGregor does consulting for, and the likely income from renting the new building out to groups from Dayton, Columbus or Cincinnati for conferences and retreats, she said.

Gellman-Danley is also committed to supporting the Antioch College Renewal Commission and its plans to revitalize the college, she said. McGregor will continue a cooperative 3 + 2 plan with the college to encourage students to do three years of undergraduate work at Antioch College and finish with a graduate degree at McGregor.

The buildings McGregor currently occupies will be vacated when the move occurs in the spring 2007, Gellman-Danley said. McGregor has upgraded its current buildings and built new offices, which she hopes the college can reclaim and use to its advantage. She appreciates the “love and aura of the Antioch College campus” and still plans for McGregor to have a close and collaborative relationship with its “sister school,” she said.

An executive committee will work with McGregor’s architects at Lorenz & Williams and with Community Resources to finalize building design plans and collect construction bids to be approved by the board early next year. Gellman-Danley also anticipates evaluating financial models and faculty needs.

Since McGregor announced last year that it was looking for a space to expand, the Yellow Springs community has made a significant effort to show the school the village wants it to stay in town. Nearly 70 village leaders met at an economic forum last March and announced the economic growth potential for Yellow Springs as an “education village.” Over the summer, Community Resources and Village Council purchased the land for a commerce park, hoping McGregor would serve as its anchor.

When the University’s board voted overwhelmingly to approve the move, a strong contingent of village leaders were present to cheer and share in the celebration of the beginning of a successful town–gown partnership, Kaplan said.

“It’s real, that’s the main thing,” Gellman-Danley said. “The board has backed us, and this is going to happen.”