The Indiana University Board of Trustees has approved two construction projects for the IUPUI and Bloomington campuses: construction of an IU School of Medicine Medical Education Building to be co-located with a new IU Health Flexible Platform of Care facility consolidating Methodist and University hospitals near 16th Street and Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis, and the renovation of Wright Quadrangle on the Bloomington campus. Thomas A. Morrison, IU vice president for capital planning and facilities, presented the requests. Indianapolis Academic Health Center site. Map courtesy of the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities.

The board approved a long-term ground lease agreement with Indiana University Health and the construction of the IU School of Medicine Medical Education Building along with potential future expansion.

The approximately 323,000-gross-square-foot Medical Education Building will create a new primary site for medical education programs in Indianapolis, with primary research labs remaining on the medical campus adjacent to IUPUI. The facility also will include approximately 77,000-gross square feet of shell space that will be built out in the future for research needs.

The Medical Education Building will include classrooms, offices and related support space, as well as a new anatomy lab and a surgical skills lab that will accommodate robotics including two da Vinci labs. A new center for clinical learning also will be created, featuring simulation spaces for examination and operating rooms, a virtual simulation room and a technology simulation room.

In addition to providing state-of-the-art educational and research opportunities, the Medical Education Building also will improve the IU School of Medicine’s ability to provide the state with more highly trained health professionals to serve growing demand.

“This new facility will create learning communities to foster closer connections between students and faculty, introduce leading-edge educational technology, provide room for research growth and further strengthen our close relationship with IU Health,” said Dr. Jay L. Hess, dean of IU School of Medicine and IU’s executive vice president for university clinical affairs.

Also approved was the renovation of Joseph A. Wright Quadrangle, a 1,052-bed student housing facility that opened in 1949 on the Bloomington campus.

This project will upgrade building and life safety systems throughout the complex, including the installation of central air conditioning. Selected kitchen equipment will be upgraded, and an accessible entrance with an elevator will be created at the existing north breezeway to the complex. The residential wings will receive new windows, security card access systems, flooring in student rooms and corridors, ceilings, and accessible and all-gender restrooms. Existing restrooms will be upgraded.

The project is planned in two construction phases. With the first phase completing in the 2022-23 academic year and the second phase completing in 2023-24, about half of the facility will be able to be in use during each phase. Work in the dining facility will be scheduled to minimize disruption of food service as much as is feasible.

“Part of putting students first on our campus is ensuring that the more than 12,000 students who live on campus can do so in updated, functional, accessible spaces,” said John S. Applegate, interim IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president. “Living on campus means far more than housing and food. We know that living on campus helps students to perform better academically, develop community-building skills, and challenge themselves to grow personally in spaces that support their overall well-being.”

Beth Feickert is a capital planning project specialist for the IU Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities.