Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Foundation's board of directors has voted to begin development of the first phase of a master plan for a 14-acre tract of land at the corner of Kimball and Denison avenues in Manhattan. The initial project for the site will be an office building for the KSU Foundation. Future phases will add three additional buildings that will provide commercial space for corporate office and lab space.

"We are unanimous that this is the right time to initiate this project," said retired Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the foundation board. "Now that the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility has been funded, and with the addition of the Kansas State Department of Agriculture opening recently in the university research park, the time is ideal to assist the university in further developing the north campus corridor, and also further strengthen the foundation as it seeks to build higher sustained levels of philanthropic support for the university. The foundation office building will also include leasable space for corporations to engage students and faculty and gain research expertise that benefits the university and the corporate partners."

"The north campus corridor is an exciting area of development that is going to offer huge advantages to the city of Manhattan and the university," said Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University.

"We are taking a comprehensive, collaborative approach to planning this area, which will provide space for academic and commercial enterprises that will fuel economic growth and development with a wide area of impact. Having the KSU Foundation as part of this north campus development has numerous advantages, not the least of which is the presence on campus of our fundraising arm," Schulz said.

"The campus infrastructure is a crucial aspect of our strategic vision to become a Top 50 public research university by 2025, and philanthropic support is vital to building and renovation projects," Schulz said. "Currently, we have several major building and/or renovation projects underway, including the new building for the College of Business Administration, Phase IV of the College of Engineering complex, the K-State Welcome Center, and a major renovation and addition to Seaton Hall for the College of Architecture, Planning & Design. These will be tremendous assets to the university. In the same vein, the development of the 14-acre site in the north campus corridor will be a great asset to the university. Philanthropic support becomes a more crucial part of the university's funding with every passing year, and we must be able to count on sustained fundraising at a high level. The foundation office building will provide the appropriate infrastructure to support that goal."

"To meet our goal to sustain philanthropic contributions at a level of $150 million annually, we must increase our workforce," said Fred Cholick, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation. "This building has been planned with maximum efficiency and will allow expansion of our staff over a period of 20 years. We are able to add value to the project and reduce our costs by providing up to 20 percent of the building as leasable space for corporate-sponsored student programs."

The foundation building will be completed on the site of an office building that was started in 2007, and discontinued in 2008 due to the onset of the Great Recession. The overall cost of the new building will be reduced by using the same footprint as planned originally and some building materials that had already been purchased.

The estimated cost of the 59,000-square-foot building is $11.5 million, which will be financed through a commercial loan. Project management services for the building are being provided by CBRE Inc., Kansas City, Missouri. The design/build team includes Hoefer Wysocki Architects, Leawood, and general contractors GE Johnson Construction, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Hutton Construction, Wichita. Construction is expected to begin in October 2014 and will be complete in August 2015.

The KSU Foundation was established in 1944 as the official fundraising arm of Kansas State University. It is a separate, independent entity chartered by the state of Kansas as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education corporation.