Facility plans for the Amplify Hancock County campus.
Veridus Group presented updates on the Amplify Hancock County project to the county council and commissioners at their joint meeting on July 30.
The updates focused primarily on the landscaping plan, which included sustainable vegetation, such as wildflowers and low-mow turf in addition to traditional grass around the facility. The idea was to save both money and water with less irrigation-intensive plants that are native to the area while limiting the amount of maintenance that needs to be done on the facility, which currently sits at 20 acres with an option to expand to 40 at a later date. The low-mow turf and wildflowers do not require regular mowing in the same way that traditional grass does, only needing occasional mowing in the case of the turf and annual mowing to make way for new growth in the case of the wildflowers. The wildflowers would also create a buffer around the pond on the facility to create a barrier between the geese that would live there and the sidewalk in order to keep the sidewalk clear for pedestrians.
The landscaping plans also included the parking and traffic flow plans, which were designed to keep parking, especially parking compliant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, as close to the doors as possible while maintaining an easy area for parents to drop off students. The commissioners and council were pleased with the updates to the plan, with several of them expressing such during and following the meeting.
“I am very excited about Amplify Hancock. I think it’s going to put us on the map. Right now, it’s so far, so good,” council president Jeannine Gray said.
The program has expanded its academic programs, including the addition of an IT program within the Ivy Tech portion of the facility, with the potential to add more before the facility opens in July or August 2026. Council member and appointment to the project committee Mary Noe said that the final number of academic programs is “still a moving target,” but she’s still hopeful for expansion.
Both Noe and project manager Lance Snedeker from Veridus Group, the consulting team the council selected in January of this year, said the project was on track to open on time.
“We are super excited right now with progress, and we have a plan moving forward to achieve the target date,” Snedeker said. “Every date that has been set forth so far has been achieved. We’re on the path to get to where we need to get.”
