The city of Columbus will help fund renovations of the former offices of “The Republic.” The city council on Tuesday night approved a proposal from the redevelopment commission where it will contribute $1 million towards work on the building.
The Indiana University School of Art, Architecture and Design plans to open the J. Irwin Miller Master of Architecture program in the building this fall. The school is asking for local help of $2 million toward the renovations, with half of that coming from the city and half from other community partners. Since the commission cannot spend more than $500,000 on a project without city council approval, the council had to sign off on the plan.
John Burnett, with the Community Education Coalition, explains that this program has been years in the making.
Burnett went on to say that this is another public-private partnership that will benefit the community as a whole.
City Council voted 6-0 to approve the funding out of the city’s downtown TIF district. Frank Miller was absent.