University announces location of proposed medical school

A six-block plot of land in Evansville now has the IU Medical School’s name on it.

The proposed location of the University’s 10th medical school campus was announced last Friday after plans were submitted through December and January by several different companies.

IU started directing the planning process after receiving a $2 million planning fund from the Indiana General Assembly, according to Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities Tom Morrison.

The campus is proposed to sit between Southeast Fourth, Cherry, Southeast Sixth and Locust Streets, according to Evansville’s 14 WFIE News.

Two businesses, Townsquare Media and car dealership D-Patrick Ford, will be demolished to make room for the facility.

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said the School will make up for those losses with potential economic growth of $340 million by 2020.

About half of Indiana’s physicians received medical training from the IU School of Medicine, according to its website.

The expansion in Evansville will only further that trend. The school is
expected to raise the number of resident students from 20 to 150, a 650-percent
increase.

It will also create 3,000 new jobs, WFIE reported.

The Medical School already has more than 60 clinical departments and specialty divisions.

Starting in 2030, the facility will reel in about $560 million to $580 million a year, according to an Oct. 30 WFIE article.

An analysis of the proposals, which, according to a Dec. 13 IDS article, are rumored to be from entities including University of Southern Indiana, University of Evansville and Ivy Tech Community College, will be submitted to the Board of Trustees in April.

Criteria for a proposal included plans for a facility that spans a minimum of 170,000 square feet with room to expand.

If the board approves the proposals, IU will schedule interviews with potential construction firms, according to WFIE.

The center will take about two years to build and may open for business in summer of 2017.

The administration will release a synopsis of the proposals on the school’s website within a week.

— Ashley Jenkins