Ivy Tech acquires Waldron from city

Ivy Tech Community College will be the new owner of the John Waldron Arts Center.

On Monday, Mayor Mark Kruzan, along with Ivy Tech Chancellor John Whikehart and local radio station WFHB General Manager Will Murphy, announced that Ivy Tech will take ownership of the Waldron for $150,000.

Although the center will act as a downtown location for the community college’s lifelong learning center, it will continue to be a community arts center, which Kruzan said was an important factor in deciding what organization could assume ownership.

WFHB will still broadcast from the building, free of charge.

The school representative and mayor announced the decision 10 a.m. Monday at the center’s auditorium, but the final deal must still be approved by both the Bloomington City Council and the Ivy Tech state board of trustees. A final vote for the sale is set for April 21.

The city announced its purchase of the building from the Bloomington Area Arts Council on March 10 in a similar press conference at the arts center. The BAAC pledged to pay the debts in full to its lender within 30 days of March 31. The council must also vacate the building by May 31.

For more information, visit www.bloomington.in.gov.

— Margaret Ely