International Studies Building awaits financial go-ahead after 2 years waiting

An international house set to be built on campus is in its final stage.

The building on Jordan Avenue south of the Herman B Wells library will establish a learning community on campus and accommodate student educational interests. Now the project awaits approval of its funding. Completion is still more than two years away.

The IU board of trustees approved President Michael McRobbie’s proposal for a new International Studies Building two years ago, which will “house many of the international centers, institutes and culture and language study programs that are currently at a variety of scattered locations around the campus” according to a release.

Bob Richardson, senior associate at the University Architect’s Office, said the building has been taken through the “design development stage of the drawings and contract documents.”

“This is basically the final design,”  he said.

The 2008 proposal included a 160,000 square-foot building on Jordan Avenue directly south of the Herman B Wells Library.

Richardson said the project’s status is “on hold” until the funding can be defined.

He said the funding for the building, which is around $47 million, is being sought through Office of the President, University Administration, College of Arts and Sciences and other departments.

“When we get the go-ahead, it will take approximately six months to finish the contract documents and bid the project. Construction will then probably take about two years,” Richardson said.

IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said McRobbie is working on a financing plan that will combine both public and private funds.

MacIntyre said McRobbie hoped to move forward with the building in the near future but the financing plan is “not yet complete.”

“He is very anxious to get the financing in place and move into the construction phase,” MacIntyre said. “I can’t give a timetable because we just don’t know yet.”