Since Ball State dropped the eminent domain case against Chris Hiatt of Hiatt Printing, the university had to start over plans for the McKinley Commons project.
“At this point, we’re still deciding where it’s going to be, so we’re back at the drawing board,” said Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of marketing and communications at Ball State.
Proudfoot said the university has not taken any other steps and is still looking for locations for the project.
“The only thing they can really do is buy private property,” said Monte Brown, a commercial real estate agent at Coldwell Banker.
Private property, aside from the Village, surrounds Ball State on two sides, which could provide other opportunities for expansion.
“Is there room — There’s always room, I think, in several different directions for them to go,” said Jim Mochal, associate realtor at Coldwell Banker. “Directly south would be a challenge to then go out and single-handedly buy properties.”
The original design included a mixed-use, hotel and dining facility as well as an event hall that would provide immersive learning opportunities for Ball State students in the hospitality and food management program.
It would have been a four-story structure occupying a 100,000 square-foot area on the corner of McKinley and University avenues, according to the project summary submitted to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
The proposed project was estimated to cost $25.9 million and would have been paid for through tax-exempt revenue bonds.
The university offered Hiatt $400,000 for the property in April of 2012, which was $25,000 more than what it was later appraised for, but he requested $1.3 million.
After failed negotiations, Ball State attempted to obtain the property through eminent domain but dropped the lawsuit nine months later.
“We will step back and consider our options for best achieving the goals of the project in a different location or turn to other strategic priorities,” Proudfoot said to the Daily News in June.
Eminent domain is the legal acquisition of private property for public use. In order to file an eminent domain lawsuit to acquire property, the entity must prove that the use of the property will benefit the public.
The current plan is being reconsidered as a location for McKinley Commons has not been found.
“For the physical design, once we get to the point where we’re ready to design the building itself, then we will hire an architect,” Proudfoot said.
Factors other than design and cost must be taken into account for investment projects such as McKinley Commons, Mochal said.
“The price of progress is a measuring stick,” he said. “It comes down to not only financial costs, but also a cost of people who are elated and applaud the progress.”
