By Lacey Watt
GREENFIELD — Two representatives of the Veridus Group came to the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce luncheon to speak about the new education center coming to Hancock County — Amplify Hancock.
Alaina Shonkwiler and Tim Jensen spoke at the meeting, providing an overview of the project itself and updates they’ve had.
Shonkwiler said that it has been approximately one year since they last spoke and provided an update on the project, and since then there had been a name change for the center. What used to be the Hancock County Education And Innovation Center was changed to Amplify Hancock.
Shonkwiler said that Hancock County did not have any higher ed presence outside of what was already being offered in the K-12 buildings.
They wanted to make sure that they were engaged with people and understanding the current skill level and talent of the resident profile of the community and the employment skill level.
“We kind of identified our key priorities to increase the town at pipeline and really just strengthen where you currently are — give your highschool students a better launching platform into the workforce, whether that is into a four-year degree program or directly into the workforce,” Shonkwiler said.
Jensen said that one question they get a lot is who actually owns the building, to which he answers that the county owns the building and the property. Jensen said the plan right now is to use a certain amount coming from the TIF fund coming from the industrial development to the west side of the county.
Funding so far has come from multiple sources and donations, including $40 million from county commissioners and $1.4 million from the READI funds. The target budget for this project is between $42-44 million.
As far as managing the building, Jensen said they felt it was import to put together the non-profit board that would lead the Amplify Hancock project, and that they have representatives from all the people who are renting or utilizing space in the facility.
Jensen said that they have now pursued property near the corner of 300 N and 200 W.
“We do believe, and it’s in process now with the county highway department, that probably by 2026-2027 that interchange will be built,” Jensen said.
With the design for the building, the most recent changes were just two weeks ago and may be subject to change again as they narrow the idea.
Despite not knowing if there will be funds to expand immediately, Jensen said that they plan for expansion immediately. Based on their building they built in Hendricks County, within 30 days of the facility being open, there was a request to add 50,000 square feet.
“We want to make sure that whatever we can do here, we are building for an expansion for the future because this kind of education is much-needed, not just in Hancock County but across the state,” Jensen said.
A concern that Jensen said they have been addressing with the architecture team is how they plan to keep high school students and adult learners separated and keep everyone safe. One idea, for example, is to have 9-12 students using a room during the day then adult learners using the room at night.
The conceptual design as of Sept. 12 shows that Ivy Tech will occupy most of the upstairs of the building with classroom spaces to help aid the separation.
Jensen said that the building will also contain some level of white box space, which means a space that has concrete flooring and open walls, ready to be moved into for immediate expansion.
This building would have the programs that the schools in the district already offer to their students and what they would like to potentially offer. Some of those programs include radiology, HVAC, electric, carpentry, welding, criminal justice, medical assisting, CNA, dental careers, EMS, aviation and more.
The plan will include 400 students total from all four school districts taking advantage of the building by the projected start date of fall 2025.
Jensen said that the county is currently in a selection period for their construction manager and some other key roles for the project. Bids for construction management constructor were due by noon Sept. 13 and are to be selected by mid-October, and a design team is already chosen.
